Overview

A game of Dominoes takes place over the course of several rounds. Each round begins with tiles being dealt to each player so the first turn can take place. After that, both players take turns matching and drawing tiles until one of them clears their hand or until no more tiles can be drawn. The winner of each round is awarded points based on the value of their opponent’s hand, and the first player to 100 points (or 150, depending on your Settings) is declared the game winner. If no player hits the necessary point threshold to win the game, the next round starts.

General

Dominoes is played with 2 players and uses 28 tiles. Each tile features two pip values ranging from 0-6. At the start of the game, all 28 tiles are mixed together and 7 tiles are dealt out to each player. The remaining 14 tiles become the boneyard.

Player Turns

On round one of each new game, the player with the highest value double tile gets to go first (If neither of the players have any doubles, the player with the highest value tile goes first). They must play that double to begin the game. After the first round, the starting player for each round alternates between both players. Starting with the second round, players no longer need to play a double as their first tile. They are free to start the round with any tile they choose.

All Fives and Draw Mode

Dominoes features two playable modes: All Fives and Draw. In Draw, players can only score points at the end of each round, while in All Fives players can also score points during the round. Draw is typically played to 100 points, while All Fives is typically played to 150 points (Both these values can be changed in the settings).

Matching Tiles

After the first tile has been placed, the other player must then lay down a tile that has pip values matching at least one end of the previously played tile. If a tile has a blank side, that tile can only be played off the blank side of another tile. In All Fives mode, if the values on the open ends of dominoes add up to a multiple of five, the player who placed the last domino receives points reflective of those pip values.

Spinners

In All Fives mode, the first double placed is known as the spinner. The spinner is a special tile that can be played off of in all four directions as opposed to the standard two. The top and bottom of the spinner can only be played off of once the left and right sides have been used. There is only one spinner per round, any other placed doubles can only be played off of from their left and right sides.

The Boneyard

If a player does not have any playable dominoes in their hand, they must draw from the boneyard until they have one. The boneyard contains 14 tiles that are all displayed facedown. If the boneyard is empty and a player cannot play any tiles, they must pass.


Victory Types

There are three victory types across the different modes available in Dominoes.

  • The most common type, a Domino Victory is when a player successfully clears all the dominoes from their hand before their opponent. When this happens, The value of all dominoes left in the other player’s hand is added up and awarded to the round winner.

  • Another victory type, Block Victory, occurs when both players cannot lay down any more tiles and the boneyard is also empty. The value of both players’ hands is added up and the player with the lowest hand value is declared the round winner. The winner then has their hand value subtracted from the loser’s value, and they are awarded the difference.

  • The final type, Midround Victory, can only be achieved while playing All Fives. This occurs when a player hits the point total required to end the game during the middle of a round. This is accomplished by scoring points on the board by forming multiples of five.