Dominoes questions, answered

How many dominoes are in a set?

A standard double-six set has 28 tiles. Every pairing of the numbers 0 to 6 appears exactly once, which means seven tiles carry each number, counting that number’s double. The whole set totals 168 pips, so a typical seven-tile hand is worth about 42 points.

What is the difference between Block and Draw dominoes?

They are the same game apart from one rule. In Block, the tiles nobody was dealt are set aside untouched, so if you cannot play you simply pass. In Draw, those tiles form the boneyard, and when you cannot play you must keep drawing from it until you can or until it runs out. Draw is more forgiving; Block rewards tracking what your opponent cannot play.

What is the boneyard in dominoes?

The boneyard is the pile of face-down tiles left over after the deal. With two players taking seven each, fourteen tiles remain. In Draw dominoes you take from it when you are stuck. In Block dominoes it is not used at all.

Who plays first in dominoes?

The player holding the highest double leads with it. If nobody was dealt a double, the heaviest tile leads instead. Some house rules let the winner of the previous round open with any tile they choose; we use the highest-double convention because it is the most widely recognised and it makes a shared deal replay identically for both players.

How is dominoes scored?

When a player empties their hand, they score the total pips left in every other hand. If the board blocks and nobody can move, the player holding the fewest pips wins and scores the other hands the same way. A match runs until somebody reaches the target score, traditionally 100.

What happens if a dominoes game blocks?

A blocked game is not a draw. Everyone still holds tiles but nobody can play, so the lightest hand wins and takes the pips from the other hands. If two hands tie on pips exactly, most rule sheets go quiet; here nobody scores and the round is dealt again.

Can you pass in dominoes if you have a legal move?

No. If a tile in your hand matches an open end, you must play it. You cannot hold a tile back by passing, and in Draw dominoes you cannot draw while you already have something playable. Every turn has exactly one legal category of move.

Are doubles played sideways in dominoes?

Traditionally yes, a double is laid across the line rather than along it. That is presentation rather than a rule in Block and Draw: the double still joins one number and exposes that same number. Laying it sideways is useful because it marks at a glance the tiles that can only ever join one suit.

What is the best opening move in dominoes?

The opening is forced under the highest-double rule, so the first real decision is your second tile. Play heavy tiles and doubles early while you still have turns to place them, and prefer leaving an open end in a number you hold several of, so you can keep answering it.

Is this dominoes game free, and does it need an account?

It is free and there is no account. The entire game, opponents included, runs in your browser, so nothing you play is sent to a server. Your scores, settings and daily streak are stored on your own device and nowhere else.

Can I play dominoes offline?

Once the page has loaded, yes. There is no network call during play: the deal, the opponent and the move coach all run locally. Losing your connection mid-match changes nothing.

Does this play All Fives, Muggins or Fives and Threes?

No. Those families score during play whenever the open ends sum to a multiple of five or three, which is a genuinely different game with different strategy. This site plays Block and Draw, which share one scoring model, and we would rather say so than half-implement the others.

Still looking for something?

The full rules are set out at length for Block and Draw, the arithmetic is on the scoring page, and the reasoning the computer opponent uses is documented in the strategy guide.