How to play Dominoes

Objective

Dominoes is a game that is typically played by two to four players. The objective of the game is to be the first player to get rid of all your dominoes by playing them onto a chain of dominoes that have already been played.

The Setup

The dominoes are shuffled and each player draws a certain number of dominoes, depending on the number of players. In a two-player game, each player would draw seven dominoes.

Basic Play

To start the game, the first player places a domino on the table. Each player then takes turns placing one of their dominoes on the board, matching one end to an open end of a domino already on the board. If a player cannot make a legal play, they must pass their turn to the next player.

Players can only connect pips with like pips. For example, a tile with one pip can only be placed next to another tile with one pip. A tile with three pips can only be placed next to another tile with three pips. If a player cannot make a legal play with any of their tiles, they must pass their turn.

If the first player's domino has the same number of pips on both ends, it is called a "spinner." Players can play tiles off both ends of a spinner, except the first spinner played in a round, where all four ends of a spinner are eligible for play.

Next round first player is the previous round's winner, and they can play any domino.

If all players have no dominoes to play, they are "all blocked" and the round ends.

"All Fives" Variant

In the "All Fives" variant of Dominoes, players aim to make the open ends of the chain add up to multiples of five. Whenever a player makes the open ends add up to a multiple of five, they score that amount. If a player plays a tile that does not make the open ends add up to a multiple of five, the play is valid, but no one receives any points. NOTE: the spinner and any turned doubles at the end of a line score the total of its pips. However, when two tiles have been played against the sides of the spinner, only the ends of those tiles are scored and the spinner itself is not—just as though the spinner was another ordinary tile in the chain.

"Blocking Game" Variant

In the "Blocking Game" variant of Dominoes, players aim to play their tiles onto the board and block their opponents from playing their tiles. If a player cannot make a legal play, they must pass their turn to the next player. If all players are blocked, the winner of the round is the player with the lowest number of pips remaining in their hand.

"Draw" Variant

In the "Draw" variant of Dominoes, players draw tiles from the boneyard until they have a playable tile. If the boneyard is empty, players must pass their turn if they cannot play a tile. The first player to play all their tiles wins.

"All Threes" Variant

In All-Threes, players aim to make the open ends of the chain add up to multiples of three. Whenever a player makes the open ends add up to a multiple of three, they score that amount. If a player plays a tile that does not make the open ends add up to a multiple of three, the play is valid, but no one receives any points. NOTE: the spinner and any turned doubles at the end of a line score the total of its pips. However, when two tiles have been played against the sides of the spinner, only the ends of those tiles are scored and the spinner itself is not—just as though the spinner was another ordinary tile in the chain.

Scoring

In All-Fives and All-Threes, the game is won when a player reaches a certain points threshold (e.g. 150), after a few rounds of play. In the Blocking and Draw Games, there is no specific scoring for playing tiles onto the board, but the winner of the round receives the total pips from the dominoes left in other players' hands, adds them to the game's scoreboard, and a new round begins. In all game types, the game is won when a player reaches a certain points threshold.

Scores at the end of the round are rounded up/down to closest 5s/3s in All-Fives/All-Threes game modes.

Double domino (e.g. 6-6, 5-5, etc) should only count both ends point-wise when it has fewer than 2 dominoes connected to it.

In the event all players are blocked and two or more players arefor the lowest pip count, the player who holds a domino with the lowest pip count wins the round.

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Tips for Playing Dominoes

• Try to hold onto your higher value tiles for as long as possible, as they can be more useful later in the game.
• Be aware of the tiles that have been played and what tiles are left in the draw pile, as this will help you anticipate what tiles other players may have.
• Pay attention to the tiles played by other players, as this can give you clues about what tiles they may have left and what tiles they may be looking for.
• Look for opportunities to block other players by playing tiles that prevent them from playing their tiles.
• Practice your counting skills, as it's important to be able to quickly add up the pips on your tiles and those played by other players.

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