Domino Basic Games
The most popular domino game is Draw Dominoes. Draw Dominoes is easy to learn and play. Block Dominoes is similar to Draw Dominoes. The biggest difference between Draw Dominoes and Block Dominoes is that players do not select bones from the bone yard when they are playing the block version of the game. Other popular domino games include Fives-Up (also known as All Fives or Muggins) and Chickenfoot.
Dominoes: Rules: Draw Dominoes
Number of players: 2 to 4
Type of dominoes required: Standard double-six set with 28 pieces
Starting the Game
Place the dominoes face-down on the table and mix them up. If 2 people are playing, each player selects 7 dominoes. If 3 or 4 people are playing, each player selects 5 dominoes. Keep your dominoes in front of you but hidden from your opponent(s). Leave the rest of the dominoes face-down on the table in the "boneyard". The player with the highest double places that double on the table to start the game. If no one has a double, the player with the domino of the highest value starts.
Playing the Game
The next player to the left must then place a matching domino next to the first domino. For example, if the first player started the game with double six, the next player must play a domino that has a six on it. If the player doesn't have a domino of matching value, they must pick up a domino from the boneyard. They keep picking up dominoes from the boneyard until they get a playable domino. If there are if no more dominoes left, the player must pass their turn.
Winning and Scoring
The first person to run out of dominoes is the winner of the round. If no one runs out of dominoes but everybody passes because they don't have a playable domino, the person with the lowest score is the winner. The winner scores the total number of points on all of the opponents unplayed dominoes. If the winner has any unplayed dominoes, subtract them from the score. A game of draw dominoes is typically played to 100 points and the scoring is kept with pencil and paper. Some players like to use a cribbage board to keep score. In this case, the game is usually played to 121 points, which represents the final peg hole on the cribbage board.
Playing as Partners
When playing with 4 people, you can play as partners or teams. Partners sit across from each other at the table. Partners add their scores together to yield a team score.
Dominoes: Rules: Block Dominoes
Number of players: 2 to 4
Type of dominoes required: Standard double-six set with 28 pieces
Block dominoes is similar to Draw Dominoes except that players do not draw tiles from the boneyard.
Starting the Game
Place the dominoes face-down on the table and mix them up. If 2 people are playing, each player selects 7 dominoes. If 3 or 4 people are playing, each player selects 5 dominoes. Keep your dominoes in front of you but hidden from your opponent(s). The remaining dominoes are not used in this round. The player with the highest double places that double on the table to start the game. If no one has a double, the player with the domino of the highest value starts.
Playing the Game
The next player to the left must then place a matching domino next to the first domino. For example, if the first player started the game with double six, the next player must play a domino that has a six on it. If the player doesn't have a domino of matching value, they must pass their turn.
Winning and Scoring
The first person to run out of dominoes is the winner of the round. If no one runs out of dominoes but everybody passes because they don't have a playable domino, the person with the lowest score is the winner. The winner scores the total number of points on all of the opponents unplayed dominoes. If the winner had any unplayed dominoes, subtract them from the score. A game of block dominoes is typically played to 100 points and the scoring is kept with pencil and paper. Some players like to use a cribbage board to keep score. In this case, the game is usually played to 121 points, which represents the final peg hole on the cribbage board.
Playing as Partners
When playing with 4 people, you can play as partners or teams. Partners sit across from each other at the table. Partners add their scores together to yield a team score.
Dominoes: Rules: Fives-Up
Number of players: 2 to 4
Type of dominoes required: Standard double-six set with 28 pieces
Fives-Up is also called All Fives or Muggins. Fives-Up is unique in that players score points during the game when they place pieces that result in the ends of the domino chain adding up to a multiple of 5.
Starting the Game
Place the dominoes face-down on the table and mix them up. Each player selects one domino. The player with the highest point value will start the game. Return the dominoes to the table and mix them all up again. If 2 people are playing, each player selects 7 dominoes. If 3 or 4 people are playing, each player selects 5 dominoes. Keep your dominoes in front of you but hidden from your opponent(s). Leave the rest of the dominoes face-down on the table in the "boneyard".
Playing the Game
The player who starts places down any one of their dominoes. The next player to the left must then place a matching domino next to the first domino. For example, if the first player started the game with 6|5, the next player must play a domino that has a six or a five on it. If the player doesn't have a domino of matching value, they must pick up a domino from the boneyard. They keep picking up dominoes from the boneyard until they get a playable domino. If there are if no more dominoes left, the player must pass their turn. The first double played in the game is a spinner. You can play off all four sides of a spinner.
Winning and Scoring
Players score points when they play a domino that makes all points on the end of the domino chain equal a multiple of five. For example, if the end points equal 15, the player scores 15 points. The first person to run out of dominoes is the winner of the round. If no one runs out of dominoes but everybody passes because they don't have a playable domino, the person with the lowest score is the winner. The winner scores the total number of points on the opponents unplayed dominoes, rounded off to the nearest multiple of 5, then divided by 5. If the winner had any unplayed dominoes, subtract them from the score. For example, if the winner had no dominoes left and their opponents had 26 points left, the winner would score 25/5=5 points. A game of Fives-Up is typically played to 100 or 200 points.
Playing as Partners
When playing with 4 people, you can play as partners. Partners sit across from each other at the table.
Variations
Some players do not count the value of the spinner when determining if the dominoes ends add up to a multiple of 5. Sometimes, the game is played with no spinners or with all doubles as spinners.
Dominoes: Rules: Threes-Up
Number of players: 2 to 4
Type of dominoes required: Standard double-six set with 28 pieces
Threes-Up is identical to the game Fives-Up, except scoring uses multiples of 3 instead of 5. Please refer to the rules for Fives-Up for details of how the game is played.
Dominoes: Rules: Chickenfoot
Number of players: 2 or more
Type of dominoes required: Double-nine set with 55 pieces
Chickenfoot is a fun dominoes game that originated in Texas. What makes the game unique is that you can place dominoes diagonally on one side of a double to form a "chicken foot". Details below.
Starting the Game
Place the dominoes face-down on the table and mix them up. If 2 people are playing, each player selects 9 dominoes. If 3 or 4 people are playing, each player selects 7 dominoes. Keep your dominoes in front of you but hidden from your opponent(s). Leave the rest of the dominoes face-down on the table in the "chicken yard". In the first round, the player with double-nine places that double on the table to start the game. (In the next round, the player with double-eight will start. Then after that, double-seven and so on until the final round, which begins with double-blank.)
Playing the Game
The next player to the left must then place a matching domino next to the first domino. For example, if the first player started the game with double-nine, the next player must play a domino that has a nine on it. If the player doesn't have a domino of matching value, they must pick up one domino from the chicken yard. If they still can't play, they pass. The first double played in the game is a spinner. You can play off all four sides of the spinner. The next time any double is played, it is a chickenfoot. The three toes of the chickenfoot must be played before any other dominoes can be played. After the chickenfoot is filled, the game continues as before and players may place pieces on any open end.
Winning and Scoring
The round ends when someone runs out of dominoes, or when everyone passes because the game is blocked. Each player scores the number of points in their hand. Double-blank is worth 50 points. The object of the game is to score as few points as possible. The game ends after 10 rounds are played. (Remember, the first round started with double-nine. The last round started with double-blank.)
Dominoes: Strategy and Tips
Dominoes is a relatively simple game, however there are a few general dominoes strategies to keep in mind when playing. The strategies below apply mainly to Draw Dominoes and Block Dominoes, which are the most common domino games and the basis for many other game variations.
- Get rid of your doubles as soon as possible. It's easy to get stuck with doubles since you don't have as many opportunities to play them.
- Try to play your high value dominoes as soon as possible. That way, even if your opponent wins the round, hopefully they won't score too many points.
- Try to keep at least one of every number in your hand for as long as you can. This will help keep you from getting stuck in an unplayable position.
- When your opponent has to pass or draw from the boneyard, make a mental note of which number or numbers they don't have. You can use this information to try to block them later on.
- Take note of which dominoes have already been played. By looking at what dominoes have already been played, plus the dominoes you have in your hand, you can often determine which dominoes your opponent has. This is especially true late in the round when most of the dominoes have been played. You can use this information to block your opponent.