All Fives

Setup

• Players: two to four. Our practice table is you against one bot.
• Set: one double-six set: 28 tiles, with ends from blank to six.
• Your hand: nine tiles each with two players.
• Boneyard: the other ten tiles, face down, ready to draw.

How to play

1. 1Any tile leads. The leader plays any tile to start the layout. A lead that adds up to 5 or 10, like the 5-0 or the double 5, scores at once.
2. 2Match an open end. Play a tile against a matching number at an open end of the layout.
3. 3The spinner opens four ways. The first double played is the spinner. Once tiles are played on both its sides, its two ends open too.
4. 4Count after every play. Add up the open ends. A double at an end counts both halves. A multiple of 5 scores itself.
5. 5Can't play? Draw. Draw from the boneyard until a tile fits, and play it. With the boneyard empty, pass.
6. 6Go out or get blocked. The hand ends when someone plays their last tile, or when nobody can play.

Winning

Points come from counts during the hand, and from going out at the end. Play hand after hand until someone reaches 250. That player wins straight away, even mid-hand.

Scoring

Example: the layout shows a 6 and a 4, so you score 10. Later you go out while the bot holds 6-4 and 2-1: that is 13 pips, which rounds to 15.

Key terms

Open ends:

The numbers at the ends of the layout. Tiles join here.

Count:

The open ends added up after a play. A multiple of 5 scores itself.

Spinner:

The first double played. Once both its sides are covered, it opens up and down too.

Arm:

A line of tiles leading away from the spinner. There can be up to four.

Double:

A tile with the same number on both halves. At an end, it counts both.

Boneyard:

The face-down tiles you draw from when nothing fits.

Pips:

The dots on a tile. Pips left in your hand score for the other side.

Going out:

Playing your last tile. You score the other hand, rounded to the nearest 5.

Blocked:

Nobody can play. The lightest hand scores the other, rounded to 5.