Dominoes
Your turn — play a matching tile.
- Category
- Board
- Players
- 1
- Controls
- Click / Tap
- Set
- Double-six
About this game
Dominoes is played with tiles split into two ends, each marked with a number of pips from zero to six. You take turns adding tiles to a chain, matching a number on your tile to an open end of the line. Run out of tiles first and you win. It sounds trivial, and the basic move is, but the decision of which matching tile to play is where the game lives.
This is the draw game, the most widely played form. When you cannot match either open end, you pull tiles from the boneyard until you can, or until it is empty. Between the hand you are dealt and the tiles you draw there is real luck, but managing which numbers you keep alive is a genuine skill.
Controls
| Click or tap a tile | Play it onto a matching open end of the chain. |
| Draw tile | Take a tile from the boneyard when you cannot play. |
| New game | Shuffle and deal a fresh hand. |
Tips & strategy
Keep track of which numbers have run dry. Once all the tiles showing a particular number are down, no more can ever be played on an end showing that number. If you can leave both open ends showing an exhausted number, your opponent is forced to draw or pass while you keep playing.
Get rid of your heavy tiles early, especially high doubles. If the game locks with tiles still in hand, the player holding the fewest pips wins, so a five-six left in your hand at the end is eleven points working against you. Play the expensive tiles while you still have a choice.
Watch when your opponent draws. Every draw tells you they had nothing to match the open ends, which reveals numbers they are missing. Aim your following plays to keep those same numbers exposed, and you can force draw after draw.
Hold a tile that matches a number you play often, so you always have an answer. Dumping all your copies of one number early can leave you unable to respond when the chain swings back to it, forcing you to draw at the worst moment.
Questions
What happens if I cannot play?
You draw tiles from the boneyard until you get one you can use. If the boneyard is empty, your turn is skipped.
How does the game end?
When someone plays their last tile, or when the game locks because nobody can move. A lock is decided by who holds the fewest pips.
What is a double used for?
A double is just a tile with the same number on both ends. In this version it plays like any other tile onto a matching end.
How many tiles do I start with?
A standard hand from a double-six set. The rest form the boneyard you draw from.