Draw Dominoes

Setup

• Players: two to four, each playing for themselves.
• Set: one double-six set: 28 tiles, with ends from blank to six.
• Your hand: seven tiles each with two or three players, six each with four.
• Boneyard: the rest of the tiles, face down, ready to draw.

How to play

1. 1Highest double opens. The player with the highest double plays it to start the line. If nobody has a double, the highest tile leads.
2. 2Match an open end. Place a tile on either end of the line so the touching numbers match.
3. 3Doubles go crosswise. A double sits sideways so it is easy to read. The line still has just two open ends.
4. 4Can't match? Draw. Draw from the boneyard until you can play. The last two tiles always stay put. If you still cannot play, you pass.
5. 5Go out or get blocked. The round ends when someone plays their last tile, or when nobody can play at all.

Winning

Play rounds until someone reaches the target: 100 points with two players, or 61 with three or four. First to the target wins.

Scoring

Example: you go out while your opponent still holds 6-4 and 3-2. You score 15. In a blocked round, the player with the fewest pips scores everyone else’s pips minus their own.

Key terms

Pips:

The dots on a tile. Pips left in your hand count against you.

Double:

A tile with the same number on both ends. It sits crosswise in the line.

Open ends:

The two ends of the line. Every tile you play must match one of them.

Line:

The shared chain of tiles everyone builds together.

Boneyard:

The face-down tiles you draw from when nothing fits. The last two always stay.

Going out:

Playing your last tile. You score the pips left in your opponents' hands.

Blocked round:

Nobody can play or draw. The lightest hand scores the difference.

Match target:

The score that wins: 100 with two players, 61 with three or four.

Double-six set:

28 tiles with ends from blank to six. Each number appears on seven tiles.