Dominoes is a great tile game for two to four players. Be the first player to get rid of your dominoes to score points.
There are different game of dominoes types. Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play draw dominoes, how to play block dominoes, and how to play muggins (all fives) dominoes below.
If you are looking for how to play Mexican train dominoes, click over to the How To Play Mexican Train page.
Draw Dominoes Tutorial
Needed
Double-six set of dominoes; two to four players; pen and paper for scorekeeping
Setup
Each player will draw seven dominoes in a two player game. Each player will draw five dominoes in a three or four player game.
The remaining dominoes stay face down and are known as the boneyard.
Objective of the Game
The object of the draw game is to score points by being the first player to play all your domino tiles in a round.
Domino tiles are played into the middle by matching an open end number with one from your hand.
Game Play
The player with the highest double tile will play first. Play moves clockwise left.
On a turn, players will play one domino tile into the middle, if possible. A domino tile can be played into the middle by matching two domino tile ends that have the same number.
If a match cannot be played, the player draws domino tiles from the boneyard until a match is found. The match drawn is played, and play moves to the next player.
Players continue to take turns in a clockwise direction until one player plays his/her last domino tile into the middle.
Scoring
At the end of each hand, the winner is awarded points based on the value (total number of pips) of the remaining tiles in the other players’ hands.
The first player to an agreed-upon number of points, such as 100 points, wins the game.
Rules
The player with the highest double tile starts the first round. After the first round, the starting player rotates left each round.
A player must continue to draw tiles from the boneyard until he/she is able to play a domino tile. If the boneyard is empty, and a player cannot play, that player’s turn is skipped.
If all players cannot play, and the boneyard is empty, the player with the lowest total domino value wins the round.
The winning player subtracts the value of his/her domino tiles from each opponent’s remaining tile values, and scores the resulting amount.
Block Dominoes Tutorial
Needed
Double-six set of dominoes; two to five players; pen and paper for scorekeeping
Setup
Each player will draw seven domino tiles in a two or three player game.
Each player will draw five domino tiles in a four player game.
Each player will draw four domino tiles in a five player game.
The remaining dominoes are pushed to the side and are not used for the rest of the round.
Objective of the Game
The object of the block game is to score points by having the lowest total number of pips compared to your opponent(s) on your remaining domino tiles. Pips are the number of dots on a domino tile.
Domino tiles are played into the middle by matching an open end of the domino chain number with one from your hand.
Game Play
The player with the highest double domino tile will play first at the beginning of a game. Play moves in a clockwise direction to the left.
On a turn, players will play one domino tile into the middle, if possible. A domino tile can be played into the middle by matching two domino tile ends that have the same number.
If a match cannot be played, the player will pass.
Players continue to take turns until one player plays all his/her domino tiles into the middle, or all players cannot play a domino tile into the middle.
Scoring
At the end of a round, the pips left on each player’s remaining domino tiles are compared.
The player with the lowest pip value is the winner of the round and scores points. The winning player subtracts the value of his or her domino tiles from each opponent’s domino tile values and scores the resulting amount.
The first player to an agreed-upon number of points, such as 100 points, wins the game.
Rules
The player with the highest double plays the first tile in the first round. After the first round, the starting player rotates left each round.
If a player is out of domino tiles, the round ends, even if the other players have additional tiles that could be played.
Muggins Dominoes Tutorial
Needed
Double-six set of dominoes; two to four players; pen and paper for scorekeeping
Setup
Each player will draw seven domino tiles in a two or three player game.
Each player will draw five domino tiles in a four player game.
The remaining dominoes stay face down and are known as the boneyard.
Objective of the Game
The object of the muggins game is to score points by being the first player to play all your domino tiles in a round, or by making the exposed ends of the chain add up to a multiple of five after playing a domino tile.
Domino tiles are played into the middle by matching an open end number with one from your hand.
Game Play
The player with the highest double tile gets the first turn. Play moves in a clockwise direction to the left.
On a turn, players will play one domino tile into the middle, if possible. A domino tile can be played into the middle by matching two domino ends that have the same number of dots.
If a match cannot be played, the player will draw domino tiles from the boneyard until a match is found. The match drawn is played, and play moves to the next player.
Players continue to take turns until one player plays his/her last domino tile into the middle.
When a domino is played into the middle that results in the open ends adding up to a multiple of five, the player announces it and immediately scores the amount.
Scoring
At the end of a round, the winner is awarded points based on the value of the dominoes left in the other players’ hands rounded to the nearest multiple of five.
The first player to an agreed-upon number of points, such as 150 points, wins the game.
Rules
The player with the highest double tile starts the first round. After the first round, the starting player rotates left each round.
The first double domino tile played is known as the spinner. The spinner can have up to four dominoes played on it. There is only one spinner tile per round.
A player must continue to draw tiles from the boneyard until he/she is able to play a domino. If the boneyard is empty, and a player cannot play, that player’s turn is skipped.
If all players cannot play, and the boneyard is empty, the player with the lowest total domino value wins the round. The winning player subtracts the value of his/her domino tiles from each opponent’s domino tile values, and scores the resulting amount rounded to the nearest multiple of five.
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