Dominoes Rules

All Fives Dominoes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · Easy to learn, deep to master · Skill and pip counting shift the odds well past 50%

All Fives is the most popular scoring variant of dominoes - The one tournament players often just call Muggins. You and your opponent each draw seven tiles from the double-six set, and any play that leaves the open ends totalling a multiple of five scores that total on the spot: 5, 10, 15 or even 20 points at once. The first double becomes the spinner, sprouting four arms once its main line is covered, which multiplies the ends you must count. Winning a hand pays too: go out first and you collect your opponent's leftover pips, rounded to the nearest five. Because points arrive from both the table and the hand, All Fives layers live arithmetic on top of the familiar matching game, and the running race to 100, 150 or 250 rewards players who can read the ends a full move ahead.

1. Goal. Be the first to the target score - 100, 150 or 250 points - Earned by making the open ends total a multiple of five and by winning hands.
2. The deal. Each player draws seven tiles from the shuffled double-six set; the remaining fourteen form the boneyard. If you cannot play, draw until you can - You pass only once the boneyard is empty.
3. The spinner. The first double played is the spinner. Once both sides of the main line through it are covered, tiles may branch onto its two side arms, opening up to four scoring ends.
4. Scoring. After any play where the open ends total a multiple of five, you score that total. A double at an open end counts both halves, so the 5-5 contributes ten.
5. Going out. Play your last tile to win the hand and score your opponent's remaining pips rounded to the nearest five. If the game blocks, the lighter hand wins and scores the same way.

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All Threes Dominoes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · A familiar twist · Scoring discipline beats luck over a full game

All Threes takes the machinery of All Fives and retunes it: every play that leaves the open ends totalling a multiple of three scores that many points, so 3, 6, 9, 12 and beyond all pay. Multiples of three come up more often than multiples of five, which makes the scoring feel busier - Smaller payouts, but more of them, and fewer turns where nothing is on offer. All the familiar structure is here: seven tiles each from the double-six set, the first double as the spinner with arms that open once its main line is covered, doubles counting both halves at an open end, and the hand winner collecting the loser's pips rounded to the nearest three. The race runs to 100 points, and players who already know All Fives will find a completely fresh set of key tiles to fight over.

1. Goal. Race to 100 points by making the open ends of the layout total a multiple of three, scoring that total each time.
2. The deal. Both players draw seven tiles from the double-six set; the rest wait in the boneyard. Draw until you can play whenever you are stuck.
3. The spinner. The first double played becomes the spinner. After both main-line sides are covered, its two side arms open, giving up to four ends to count.
4. Scoring. If the open ends total 3, 6, 9, 12 or any other multiple of three after your play, you score that total. A double at an end counts both its halves.
5. Going out. Playing your last tile wins the hand and adds your opponent's remaining pips, rounded to the nearest three. A blocked hand goes to the lighter holding.

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Fives and Threes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · The pub classic · The better counter wins most races to 61

Fives and Threes is the great British pub game - The variant played in leagues across northern England, traditionally scored on a cribbage board. Every play is measured against both targets at once: if the two open ends total a multiple of five you score a point per five, a multiple of three pays a point per three, and the magic total of 15 pays both at once for eight points, the game's famous maximum. Each player takes nine tiles, ten stay sleeping face down, and there is no drawing and no spinner - Just a single line, a knock when you are stuck, and a race to 61 points across as many hands as it takes. Because points come in ones, twos and threes, every single placement matters, and the best players calculate two moves deep before letting a tile touch the table.

1. Goal. Be the first to reach 61 points, scored across as many hands as it takes, by making the two open ends divide by five, by three, or by both.
2. The deal. Each player takes nine tiles from the double-six set; the remaining ten sleep face down and are never drawn.
3. Matching ends. There is one line and no spinner. Tiles match end to end exactly as in Block, and if you cannot play you knock and pass.
4. Scoring. Add the two open ends: a multiple of five scores one point per five, a multiple of three one point per three. Fifteen divides by both and pays eight - The maximum. A double at an end counts both halves.
5. Blocked games. A hand ends when someone plays their last tile or when both players knock in succession; then a fresh hand is dealt and the race to 61 continues.

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Bergen Dominoes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · Gentle & tactical · Pattern matching keeps most games close

Bergen is the gentlest of the scoring domino games, and one of the most elegant. Each player takes just six tiles, and the object is symmetry: whenever your play leaves both open ends of the line showing the same value, you score two points for the double-header - Or three for a triple-header, when one of those matching ends is a double. Going out first earns one more point, and the race runs to 15. The small hands and modest scores keep every game close, and the draw rule - Take from the boneyard until you can play - Means you are never simply stuck. What looks like a light family game turns out to reward real pattern play: engineering matched ends for yourself while denying them to your opponent takes more foresight than the friendly scoreline suggests.

1. Goal. Be the first to 15 points, scored by making the two open ends of the line match each other.
2. The deal. Each player draws six tiles from the double-six set; the remaining sixteen form a generous boneyard.
3. Scoring. When your play leaves both open ends showing the same value you score two points for a double-header - Or three for a triple-header, when one of the matching ends is a double.
4. The boneyard. If you cannot play, draw from the boneyard until you can; you pass only when it is empty.
5. Going out. Playing your last tile scores one point and ends the hand. If the line blocks, the lighter hand takes the point, and fresh hands are dealt until someone reaches 15.

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Draw Dominoes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · The beginner's game · Roughly even vs the computer - Tile reading tips the balance

Draw Dominoes is the game most people learn first - The plain, friendly heart of the whole domino family. Each player takes seven tiles from the double-six set, the rest go face down into the boneyard, and you take turns adding tiles to either end of a growing line, matching pips to pips. Can't play? You draw from the boneyard until you can, which keeps the game moving and punishes a hand that runs out of options. The first player to place their last tile wins; if the line locks up with nobody able to play, the lighter hand takes it. Beneath the simple rules sits real judgment: which end to feed, which suits to keep covered, and when a forced trip to the boneyard tells you exactly what your opponent does not hold.

1. Goal. Be the first to play every tile in your hand. Win the hand outright, or hold the lighter hand if the line blocks.
2. The deal. Each player draws seven tiles from the shuffled double-six set of 28; the remaining fourteen go face down into the boneyard.
3. Matching ends. The line grows at both ends. A tile may be played only where one of its halves matches the pip count of an open end - A 6-3 can join an open six or an open three.
4. The boneyard. If you have no playable tile, draw from the boneyard until you find one. You may pass only when the boneyard is empty.
5. Going out. The first player out of tiles wins. If neither player can move and the boneyard is gone, the hand is blocked and the lower pip count wins.

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Block Dominoes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · Simple & pure · About 50/50 - Pip counting decides the blocked games

Block Dominoes strips the game to its purest form: seven tiles each, one line, and no boneyard rescue. If you cannot match either open end you simply pass, so every tile in your starting hand has to earn its place. The fourteen tiles left out of the deal stay face down and unseen, which makes deduction - Working out what your opponent can and cannot hold - The beating heart of the game. Hands end two ways: someone plays their last tile, or the line locks with both players stuck, and then the lower pip count wins. That second route is where Block is won and lost; strong players steer toward a block when their hand is light and force the game open when it is heavy. It is the standard game across the Caribbean and Latin America for good reason.

1. Goal. Play all seven of your tiles first, or hold the lighter hand when the line locks - There is no boneyard to save you.
2. The deal. Each player draws seven tiles from the double-six set; the other fourteen are set aside face down and never enter play.
3. Matching ends. Tiles are added to either end of a single line, and the touching halves must match - Sixes on sixes, blanks on blanks.
4. Doubles. Doubles are laid crosswise across the line for visibility, but they count as a single end of their number and open no new directions.
5. Blocked games. If you cannot play, you pass. When both players are stuck the hand is blocked, both hands are turned up, and the lower pip count wins.

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Matador Dominoes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · Nothing matches - It adds · Even odds - Matador timing is everything

Matador turns the fundamental rule of dominoes on its head: instead of matching an open end, your tile's touching half must add to seven with it, so a 4 needs a 3, a 6 needs a 1, and nothing at all plays on a blank. Nothing, that is, except the four matadors - The 0-0, 1-6, 2-5 and 3-4 - Wild tiles that can be played on any end at any time, whichever way round you choose. Doubles lie flat in the line like any other tile, there is no spinner, and when you cannot play you draw from the boneyard. The hand is won by going out first, or by holding fewer pips when the line blocks. Because blank ends act as locks and matadors as the only keys, the whole game revolves around when to spend those four precious tiles.

1. Goal. Play out your hand first, or hold fewer pips when the line blocks - But here the touching ends must add to seven, not match.
2. The deal. Each player draws seven tiles from the double-six set; the rest form the boneyard, drawn from whenever you cannot play.
3. Ends that add to seven. A tile may be played only where its touching half and the open end sum to seven - A 3 plays on a 4, a 1 on a 6. No ordinary tile plays on a blank.
4. The matadors. The 0-0, 1-6, 2-5 and 3-4 are matadors: wild tiles playable on any end at any time, with either half left facing out. They are the only tiles that can rescue a blank end.
5. Doubles. Doubles lie inline like any other tile and expose only one half - There is no spinner and no crosswise play in Matador.

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Cross Dominoes

Double-six set (28 tiles) · Four arms, more choices · Near 50/50 - Arm management separates players

Cross Dominoes opens with a ritual: the first tile must be a double, and the next four plays all attach to it, one on each side, building a cross at the centre of the table. From then on the layout has four open arms, and every turn offers up to four different ends to serve - Or to poison. Draw from the boneyard when you cannot play, and go out first or hold the lighter hand at a block to win. The extra arms sound like extra freedom, but they cut both ways: four ends means four suits to keep alive, and a player who lets one arm die on a number they cannot cover hands the initiative straight to their opponent. Cross is the natural next step after Draw, and the gateway to the whole family of multi-arm domino games.

1. Goal. Play out your hand first across a four-armed layout, or hold the lighter hand if the game blocks.
2. The deal. Each player draws seven tiles from the double-six set; the rest form the boneyard. The opening play must be a double.
3. The cross. The next four plays all attach to the opening double, one on each of its four sides. Only when the cross is complete does normal play resume.
4. Matching ends. From then on tiles match end to end along all four arms, so every turn can offer up to four places to play.
5. The boneyard. Cannot play on any arm? Draw from the boneyard until you can, and pass only once it is empty. First out - Or lighter at the block - Wins.

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A few terms that apply everywhere

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