How to play dominoes: block, draw and All Fives
Most domino games start the same way: match a number on an open end, doubles go across, and the first player out of tiles wins the hand. They differ in what happens when you cannot play and in how you score. This page covers the four standard double-six games, a helper that shows which tile makes a multiple of 5, and a score keeper for the whole game.
Which domino game?
| Game | Players | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| Block dominoes | 2 to 4 | No drawing: if you cannot play, you pass. Lowest hand at the end scores what the others hold. |
| Draw dominoes | 2 to 4 | Like Block, but you draw from the boneyard until you can play. |
| All Fives and Muggins | 2 to 4, or partners | Score during play whenever the open ends add up to a multiple of 5. |
| Chickenfoot | 2 to 8 (bigger sets for more) | Every double grows three toes that must be filled before play moves on. |
| Mexican Train | 2 to 8 with a double-12 set | Everyone builds their own train from a central hub, plus a shared train anyone may use. |
New to dominoes? Start with Draw: it has the fewest surprises. Once the table is comfortable, All Fives adds scoring during play; Pagat notes that many American players regard it as the standard form of dominoes.
The basics, for every game here
- A double-six set has 28 tiles, each with two ends from blank (0) to six. Shuffle them face down on the table.
- Each player draws a hand; the tiles left over are the boneyard.
- The first player sets any tile (some tables require the highest double). Then, in turn, each player adds a tile whose number matches an open end, touching ends matching.
- Doubles are placed crosswise. A double at the end of the line still offers just that one number.
- Play the last tile in your hand and you "domino": the hand is over. If nobody can play, the hand is blocked.
Fives helper: what do the ends make?
Dominoes score keeper
Score a hand from the tiles left
Block dominoes
The simplest game and probably the most played. Two players take 7 tiles each; three or four take 5. The rest stay face down and are not used. Players draw for who sets first and take turns adding tiles to either end. Doubles go across but are not spinners. If you cannot play, you pass.
The hand ends when someone plays their last tile or nobody can play. Everyone adds up the pips in their hand. The player with the lowest total scores the sum of everyone else's, minus their own. If two players tie for lowest, nobody scores. Pagat gives the target as 100 for two players or partnerships and 61 for three or four, so you can keep score on a cribbage board. The lead passes to the left each hand.
Four can play Block as two partnerships, partners sitting opposite.
Draw dominoes
Draw is Block with the boneyard in play. Two or three players take 7 tiles each, four take 6. If you cannot (or do not want to) play, you draw from the boneyard until you play a tile. In Pagat's version the last two tiles of the boneyard are never drawn: when only two are left, a player who cannot play simply passes. Scoring and targets are the same as Block.
Pagat's main rules even let you draw when you could play, hoping to find a tile that blocks the game. Many tables, including the Puerto Rican game Pagat describes, forbid drawing when you hold a playable tile. Agree which before the first hand.
All Fives and Muggins: scoring multiples of 5
In both games you score during play. After you set a tile, add up the numbers on the open ends of the layout. If that total is 5, 10, 15 or more in steps of 5, you score it straight away. A double lying across the end of an arm counts both halves: [5-5] on an end counts 10, [6-6] counts 12.
All Fives (also called Five Up or Fives) uses a spinner. The first double played can be built on from all four sides once both long sides have a tile, so the layout can have four open ends. Pagat deals 9 tiles each for two players, 7 for three and 5 for four, with the rest as a boneyard: if you cannot play, draw until you can. The highest possible single score is 35: [6-6], [5-5] and [4-4] on three arms and a 5 on the fourth.
Muggins has no spinner, so there are only ever two ends and the most you can score in one play is 20. Two players take 7 each, three or four take 5.
When a hand ends, count the pips left in each hand and round to the nearest 5: [1-2] counts 5, [1-1] counts 0. In All Fives the player who went out (or the lowest hand in a blocked game) scores everyone else's rounded total. In Muggins each player takes their own rounded total off their score. Play to 250 with two players, or 200 with three or four. Many players divide every score by 5 so it fits a cribbage board, with 61 to win.
Example
The ends show [6-6] across one end and a 2 on the other: 12 + 2 = 14, no score. You hold [2-3]. Playing it on the 2 changes that end to 3, so the ends make 12 + 3 = 15, and you score 15. The helper above shows this for any layout.
Where tables differ
- Hand sizes. Pagat gives different numbers for Block, Draw and All Fives, and lists others: some South American players deal 8 minus the number of players, and one book suggests 7 each for everyone.
- The first tile. Any tile, the [6-6], or your highest double. In All Fives the winner of the last hand sets first.
- Drawing. Until a playable tile, one or two tiles only, never the last two, or drawing even when you could play.
- The end of a fives game. Some tables stop the moment someone reaches the target; others finish the hand. Some require hitting the target exactly.
- Blocked games. A tie for lowest scores nothing in two- and four-player All Fives; with three, the two tied split the third player's points (Pagat).
House rules in the tools: the score-per-5 option and the target. Everything else follows Pagat's main rules.
Tips
- Count the suits. There are seven tiles with each number. Once you have seen six 4s, nobody can play on a 4: you can block an end on purpose.
- Get rid of heavy tiles early. In Block and Draw the pips left in your hand go to the winner. A [6-6] stuck in your hand at the end is 12 points for someone else.
- In fives games, watch what you leave. A small total on the ends gives the next player fewer ways to reach a multiple of 5.
- Set your strong number. Pagat's tip: lead from the number you hold most of, ideally with its double, so you can keep playing on it.
Play Dominoes online or at home
Play at home: a double-six set of 28 tiles for two to four players, and the score keeper above.
Dominoes questions
How do you play dominoes?
Shuffle the tiles face down and take your hand. The first player sets a tile in the middle; after that, each player adds a tile with a matching number to one of the two open ends. Doubles go crosswise. If you cannot play, you pass (Block) or draw from the boneyard (Draw). The first to play every tile wins the hand, and scores the pips left in the other hands.
How many dominoes do you get?
With a double-six set: in Block, 7 each for two players and 5 each for three or four; in Draw, 7 each for two or three and 6 each for four (Pagat). All Fives deals 9, 7 or 5. Agree before you start; tables vary.
How do you score All Fives?
After you set a tile, add up the open ends of the layout. If the total is a multiple of 5, you score it. A double at the end of an arm counts both halves, so [6-6] on one end and a 3 on the other make 15. When a hand ends, the winner also scores the pips left in the other hands, rounded to the nearest 5.
What is a spinner in dominoes?
In All Fives, the first double played is a spinner: once tiles are on both of its long sides, players can also build off its two ends, so the layout becomes a cross with four open ends. Only the first double spins.
What happens when a domino game is blocked?
If nobody can play, the hand ends. Everyone counts the pips in their hand. In Block and Draw, the lowest hand scores the others' pips minus their own; if two players tie for lowest, nobody scores.