Ferret Express
Build your train. Beat the rest home.
The long-train dominoes game: everyone builds a line of dominoes out from the middle, there is one shared train anybody may use, and a train left open is anybody’s to play on. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
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- Players
- 4
- You need
- A double-nine set
- Style
- Shed your dominoes
- Goal
- Lowest score
What is Ferret Express?
Every player. A train of their own.
Ferret Express is played with a double-nine set of 55 dominoes. Everyone takes ten. The double for the round goes in the middle as the hub, and each player builds their own train of dominoes out from it, matching the numbers end to end.
There is also one shared train, the Express, which anybody can play on. When a player cannot play, a marker opens their train to everyone. The first player to run out of dominoes ends the round, and everyone else pays for what they are holding.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the dominoes in your hand.
Play against three bots with our Classic rules. Tap a domino to play it, and the coach shows the play it would make and why.
- Easy, Normal, or Sharp bots. Sharp bots close their markers and only play doubles they can cover.
- Quick game plays five rounds. Full game plays ten.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
A little history
A game for the whole table.
Long-train dominoes grew out of older domino games where players extend a line from a central double. Its big boxes of colored tiles, markers and a hub made it a family favorite from the 1990s on.
Like most table classics, it travels with house rules: how many dominoes are dealt, whether a double has to be covered at once, and how a blocked round is scored. These are our Classic rules.
Fun facts
- The Express is one shared train that anybody can play on.
- When a player cannot play, a marker opens their train to everyone.
- The double for the round goes in the middle as the hub, and each player builds their own train out from it.
- The first player to run out ends the round, and everyone else pays for what they are holding.
Why people love it
Race your own line. Raid everybody else’s.
A train of your own.
Nobody else can touch it, so it is the safe place to put your dominoes.
The marker changes everything.
Stuck? Your marker opens your train to everyone. Playing on it again closes it.
Doubles are a gamble.
Play one and you have to cover it right away. Leave it open and the whole table must deal with it.
A long game, in rounds.
Each round starts from a different double, so the game has a shape and a finish.
How to play
Build. Block. Go out first.
Setup
- Players: four: you and three bots, each playing for yourself.
- Dominoes: a double-nine set of 55. Ten each, and the rest are the boneyard.
- Rounds: one for each double, from the double 9 down. Our Quick game plays five rounds and the Full game ten.
- The hub: the holder of the round’s double sets it down in the middle. If nobody holds it, the dominoes are dealt again.
Winning
After the last round, the lowest total wins. Each round, everyone but the player who went out scores the pips left in their hand.
- 1
Play a domino
Match the open end of your own train, the Express, or another player’s train that has a marker on it.
- 2
Stuck? Draw
Draw one domino from the boneyard. If it fits, play it. If it does not, pass.
- 3
Passing puts a marker on
The marker opens your train to everybody until you next play on it.
- 4
Doubles must be covered
Play a double and you play again at once to cover it. If you cannot, the next players must cover it before anything else.
- 5
Go out
The first player to play their last domino ends the round.
- 6
Pay for your pips
Everyone else scores the pips on the dominoes they still hold.
These are our Classic rules, and they'll be shown in every room before the game starts. Printable rules card →
Lessons
Learn it in a few minutes.
4 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Which trains can you use?
It is your turn. Which trains may you play a domino on?
- Trains
- One each, and the Express
- Markers
- West has one
Scoring
Every pip counts against you.
Only the player who goes out scores nothing. Everyone else adds up the pips on the dominoes they are left with, so heavy dominoes are a liability.
| At the end of a round | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| Out of dominoes first | 0 | |
| Every pip left in your hand | 1 each | |
| Blocked round: everyone counts their hand | 1 each | |
| Lowest total after the last round | Wins |
Our Classic rules: the lowest total after the last round wins. Some tables score a bonus for going out or play to a target score; those are house rules.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Play the heavy dominoes first.
Whatever you hold at the end counts against you, so shed the big ones while they still fit.
Tip 2
Keep your train going.
Each domino on your own train is safe, and a long train means more places to put the rest.
Tip 3
Only play a double you can cover.
A double you cannot cover stays open and blocks everyone, you included, on the same train.
Tip 4
Close your marker.
A marker on your train lets others block you. Play on it as soon as you can.
Tip 5
Use other trains when they are open.
A domino you can only play on a marked train is a domino you do not have to draw for.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Ferret Express puzzle every day, the same for everyone. Solve it, then send it to the group chat and see who gets it right.
Want more? See today's puzzles for every game →
Your path to game night
Learn it here. Play it with friends.
Finish the lessons or win a practice game and you're ready to sit down at a real Ferret Express table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Ferret Express? Tell us in Discord.
Found a bug, a rule that feels off, or a house rule your family swears by? Our Discord is where we collect play-test feedback, and where game nights are starting to happen.
Glossary
Talk like a regular.
- Hub
- The double in the middle that every train starts from.
- Train
- A line of dominoes matched end to end, growing out of the hub.
- The Express
- The one shared train that any player may play on.
- Marker
- Put on your train when you pass. It opens your train to everybody.
- Cover
- To play a domino on a double so the train carries on.
- Boneyard
- The dominoes nobody was dealt, drawn from when you cannot play.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: how many dominoes are dealt, how doubles work, how a round is scored. We'll show you what Ferret Express can do when it's ready.
In the Tile Games pack
Ferret Express is on the ballot.
Backers vote on which tile games join the Tile Games pack. Owning the pack means every one that joins is yours too.
$9.95, one time, to host every game in it. Playing is always free. Packs go on sale when the full game launches.
Ferret Express is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Ferret Express into the Tile Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.