What is Fives and Threes?

Fives and Threes is where dominoes becomes pure arithmetic: every play is checked against two divisors at once, and the pub leagues that standardised it take that arithmetic very seriously.

Quick answer: Fives and Threes is the great British pub dominoes game. You score whenever the two open ends total a multiple of five or three - one point per five and per three, so a total of 15 scores the maximum eight. Games race to 61, traditionally pegged on a cribbage board.

How the scoring works

After your play, total the two open ends and divide: each five in the total scores a point, and so does each three. A total of six scores 2, nine scores 3, ten scores 2, twelve scores 4, and fifteen - three fives plus five threes - scores the famous 8, the biggest single play in the game. Doubles count both halves, so the 6-6 against a 3 makes fifteen. Play it here with the counting done for you.

The pub tradition

British pubs standardised Fives and Threes and built leagues around it, traditionally pegging scores on a cribbage board to a target of 61 - and league rules demand you land on 61 exactly, so endgames are plotted like chess. It remains one of the few dominoes games with organised competitive play, and it shares its counting DNA with All Threes and All Fives.

Why players rate it

There's no boneyard rescue and no spinner - just a two-ended line and relentless dual arithmetic, which is why it tops our hardest dominoes game list. Every tile you hold has to be read two ways before it touches the table. If you want the variant that rewards skill most per tile, this is it.

Play Fives and Threes

Related questions

How do you score in All Fives?

You score during play whenever the open ends of the layout add up to a multiple of five - ends of 3 and 2 score 5, a 6-6 double plus a 3 scores 15. When a hand ends, the winner also adds the opponent's leftover pips, rounded to the nearest five. First to the match target wins.

What is Matador dominoes?

Matador inverts the most basic rule of dominoes: instead of matching an open end, your tile's touching half must add to seven with it. The four matadors - 6-1, 5-2, 4-3 and double blank - are wild and play anywhere, and they're the only tiles that can follow a blank.

What is the hardest dominoes game?

Fives and Threes is the deepest test: every play is checked against fives and threes at once, with no boneyard rescue and a race to exactly 61. Matador is the most disorienting, replacing matching with sums to seven. Cross piles on complexity with four open ends to track.