Rules · 7 min read
Do doubles have to be played crossways in dominoes?
Crossways doubles are a convention, not a law. Which games make a double a spinner, when both halves count, and the house rules to agree first.
Dominoes
Dominoes
How the game is played, scored and won. The rules people actually use, the variants that differ from table to table, and the thinking that separates a good player from a lucky one.
Written for players
Rules you can take to a table tonight, not a history lecture.
A new article every day
Rules, scoring, strategy, variants and the culture around the table.
No single right rulebook
Dominoes is regional. We say which tradition a rule belongs to.
Equipment · 7 min read
What are dominoes made of, and does it matter?
Bone and ebony, Bakelite, urea, melamine, wood and stone: what domino tiles are made of, what the brass pin is for, and what to check before you buy a set.
Culture · 7 min read
What are the unwritten rules at a domino table?
Which way play goes, who shuffles, knocking or saying pass, slamming tiles, and table talk: the domino etiquette that changes from table to table.
Rules · 8 min read
How do you play Matador dominoes?
Ends that add to seven, the four matadors that play anywhere, blanks that close an end, and where the written rules disagree on deal and score.
Teaching · 6 min read
How do you teach dominoes to a beginner in ten minutes?
A ten-minute lesson plan for teaching dominoes: which game to start with, the five rules to explain, and a face-up first hand that does the rest.
Rules · 8 min read
How do you play Chicken Foot dominoes?
The double that grows three toes, deal counts by set size, the 50-point double blank — and where two written rule sets disagree.
Culture · 7 min read
What is a capicú in dominoes, and which tables pay for it?
A capicú is a winning last tile that fits both ends of the line. Some tables pay 100 points for it, some one extra point, and many tournaments nothing.
Strategy · 7 min read
How do you keep track of which dominoes have been played?
You do not memorise 28 tiles. Count numbers, not tiles, log every pass, and late in the hand you can often name every tile still out.
Rules · 8 min read
How do you play Mexican Train dominoes?
Deal counts, the engine, personal trains, markers and the double that must be covered — with the places where two written rule sets disagree.
Teaching · 7 min read
What do beginners get wrong most often at dominoes?
Nine mistakes new players make, from sitting on bare doubles to knocking with a playable tile, and the habit that fixes each one.
Strategy · 7 min read
How do you win at dominoes with only two players?
With two players, half the set sleeps or the whole set is visible. How that changes counting, passes, holding a number and block vs draw.
Rules · 8 min read
How do tournament domino rules differ from a kitchen table?
Clocks, timed turns, saying pass instead of knocking, and point penalties for misplays: what four real tournament rulebooks change.
Strategy · 7 min read
What can you learn when a domino player passes?
A pass proves a player holds neither number on the ends. Where those tiles must be instead, worked odds, and how draw games change it.
Strategy · 7 min read
Which domino should you open with?
When your rules let you choose the first tile, lead the double of your longest suit. Who gets to choose, the odds behind it, and when to break the habit.
History · 7 min read
Where did dominoes come from?
Tiles in Song-dynasty China, a 28-tile game in 18th-century France, and a gap between them nobody has closed. What the sources actually show.
Equipment · 7 min read
Double-six, -nine or -twelve: which domino set should you own?
Set size decides how many can play, how big each hand is and how long a game runs. What each set holds, and which games each one is for.
Rules · 8 min read
How do you play All Fives? Rules, spinner and when to score less
All Fives scores every play that makes the open ends a multiple of five. Here are the rules, how the spinner counts, and worked examples of smarter plays.
Strategy · 7 min read
How partnership dominoes changes the way you play
In partnership dominoes you play fourteen tiles, not seven. How to read your partner's lead, keep their number open, and signal within your table's rules.
Rules · 7 min read
What happens when nobody can play? Blocked domino games explained
When a domino game blocks, the lowest hand usually wins, but traditions split on whose pips count and who takes a tie. Here is how to see a block coming.
Strategy · 7 min read
How much of dominoes is luck? The arithmetic of the deal
The deal decides your seven tiles; counting decides what they are worth. Exact odds for doubles, long suits, unseen tiles and passes, worked out.
Rules · 7 min read
How is a domino game scored? Three systems compared
Most domino games score the pips left in losing hands, score fives during play, or award one point per hand. Here is how each works, with numbers.
Strategy · 6 min read
What separates a good domino player from a lucky one
The deal is luck. Counting tiles, reading passes, holding a suit and choosing the first tile are skill. Here is how each one works at the table.
Rules · 4 min read
The main domino games, and how their rules actually differ
Block, draw, All Fives, Mexican Train and partnership play use the same tiles and almost nothing else in common. Here is what changes between them.
Want to play a few hands?
We are building a domino game. It is not out yet, but you can be told when it is.