How to Play Dominoes

Dominoes is one of the simplest games to learn and one of the hardest to stop playing. You match the ends of your tiles to the open ends on the table, and the first player to get rid of every tile wins the hand. This guide explains how to play dominoes step by step, using the standard block and draw games, then covers the scoring, a few habits that win more hands, and the variants you are most likely to meet: All Fives and Mexican Train.

What Is in a Domino Set

Each domino, or tile, is split into two square ends, each blank or marked with pips. A set contains every possible pair of numbers exactly once, including the doubles (the same number on both ends). The standard set is double-six: 28 tiles, with each number from blank to six appearing on eight ends.

Domino tiles are first recorded in China, in texts from the Song dynasty, and the European game appeared in Italy in the 18th century before spreading across Europe and the Americas.

How to Play Dominoes: Step by Step

These are the rules of the basic block game with a double-six set, the version most people learn first.

1. Shuffle the tiles face down. With two players, each takes 7 tiles. With three or four players, each takes 5. Stand your tiles on edge so only you can see them. The tiles left over are the boneyard.
2. Decide who leads. Players usually draw a tile each and the highest goes first. In many homes the player holding the double-six leads with it instead.
3. Match an open end. Taking turns clockwise, each player adds one tile to either end of the line, so that the touching ends show the same number: a 4 against a 4, a blank against a blank.
4. Doubles go crosswise. A double is placed across the line rather than along it, but it still has only two open ends.
5. If you cannot play, you pass. In the block game, nobody draws from the boneyard.
6. Domino! The hand ends when a player plays their last tile, or when nobody can play.

In the draw game, the only change is what happens when you are stuck: instead of passing, you draw from the boneyard until you get a tile you can play. With three players, each takes 7 tiles; with four, 6 each.

How Scoring Works

At the end of each hand, every player counts the pips on the tiles left in their hand. The player with the lowest total wins the hand and scores the total of the other players’ pips, minus their own. A player who went out has nothing left, so they score everything their opponents are holding. If two players tie for the lowest total, nobody scores. A game is usually played to 100 points with two players or partners, and to 61 with three or four players.

Winning Tips

• Play heavy tiles early. If the hand is blocked, the pips left in your hand count against you, so get rid of tiles like 6-5 and 6-6 while you can.
• Keep a spread of numbers. A hand with many different numbers can follow almost any end. A hand full of one number gets stuck when that number dries up.
• Count the tiles. Every number appears on eight ends in a double-six set. Once you can see most of the fours on the table and in your hand, you know a 4 at the end of the line is hard for your opponent to follow.
• Use your doubles. A double only matches one number, so it is easier to get stuck with it. Play it when its number comes up.

Doubles turn up often. With seven tiles from a double-six set, 90% of hands hold at least one double and the most common number is two:

In a two-player game, each player holds the double-six 25% of the time, because 7 of the 28 tiles go to each hand. The other half of the time it stays in the boneyard.

Popular Domino Games

The same tiles are used for dozens of games. These four are the ones you are most likely to be asked to play.

Playing Dominoes Online

Online, dominoes is mostly played in game apps and on skill-game sites, against the computer or other people. Free versions are the easiest way to learn the rules above, and many let you choose the block, draw or All Fives game. Where dominoes is played for money, the same scoring applies, with the points converted into a stake.

Whatever you play, set a budget before you play for real money and stick to it. Free, confidential support is available at BeGambleAware.org. 18+ only.

Dominoes with a pack of cards: Sevens, also called Card Dominoes, builds rows out from the four 7s.

Another classic table game: Mancala, where two players sow stones around a board and capture from each other.

Another game played with tiles: Mahjong, where you race to make four sets and a pair.

Dominoes rules: frequently asked questions

Hopefully, the guide on this site to online dominoes has provided you with the information you need to get started. You should read carefully to understand the rules of the game if you are a new player. This way, you will learn how everything works and have fun playing your preferred domino variant online. With that said, you can find answers to the most common questions below.