Texas 42
Spades with dominoes.
The national game of Texas: a partnership trick-taking game played with dominoes. Bid how many points your side will take, name trump, and win the tricks that carry the count. Here is everything you need to know before you sit down.
- Free practice
- No sign-up
- Play in your browser
Join a Game Room
Texas 42Got a room code?
- Players
- 4, in two teams
- You need
- A double-six set
- Style
- Bid and take tricks
- Goal
- 7 marks
What is Texas 42?
Cards, but with dominoes.
Texas 42 plays like Spades or Hearts, with a double-six set of dominoes in place of the cards. Four players, two teams of partners, seven dominoes each. Players bid how many of the 42 points in a hand their side will take, and the high bidder names trump.
Every trick is worth a point, and a handful of dominoes are worth more. The 5-5 and 6-4 are 10 each, and the 5-0, 4-1 and 3-2 are 5 each. Make your bid and you win a mark. Miss it and the other side does.
The practice table
Try itLearn it with the dominoes in your hand.
Play with a bot partner against two bots, with our Classic rules. The coach works out your bid and best trump by dealing the other hands a few hundred times.
- Easy, Normal, or Sharp bots. Sharp bots look at the dominoes still out and feed the count to a partner.
- Quick game plays to 3 marks. Full game goes to 7.
- No account, no host, nothing saved.
Scoring chart
| What it is | Points |
|---|---|
| Each trick | 1 |
| 5-0, 4-1 and 3-2 | 5 each |
| 6-4 and 5-5 | 10 each |
| All of it, in one hand | 42 |
A little history
Born in Texas, around 1887.
The game was invented in Garner, Texas, in the 1880s by two boys, so the story goes, who wanted a card game their church forbade, played with dominoes instead. It is now the state game of Texas.
Like most table classics, it travels with house rules: no-trump hands, bids of marks, how many marks to play to. These are our Classic rules.
Fun facts
- Bids run from 30 to 42, and a hand nobody bids is bid by the dealer at 30.
- Make your bid and your side wins a mark. Miss it and the other side does.
- The 5-5 and 6-4 are worth 10 each, and the 5-0, 4-1 and 3-2 are worth 5 each.
- Seven tricks at one point each plus 35 for those five dominoes make the 42 in the name.
Why people love it
Domino night at its best.
You have a partner.
Every trick is a team effort, and so is the argument about whose fault the set was.
The count is the game.
Seven tricks are seven points. The five count dominoes are thirty-five. Know where they are.
Trump is your call.
Win the bid and you choose the trump, from blanks to sixes, or doubles.
Feed your partner.
When your partner is winning, throw them your count. It is the most satisfying play in the game.
How to play
Bid. Name trump. Take the count.
Setup
- Players: four, in two teams. Partners sit across from each other.
- Dominoes: a double-six set: 28 dominoes, seven each.
- Dealer: moves one seat to the left each hand.
- Bidding: starting left of the dealer, each player bids once, 30 to 42, or passes. The dealer must bid 30 if everyone passes.
Winning
The first team to the target number of marks wins: 7 in a full game, 3 in our Quick game.
- 1
Bid your points
Each player bids how many of the 42 points their side will take, or passes. A bid must beat the one before.
- 2
Name trump
The high bidder names trump: a number from 0 to 6, or doubles. Every domino with that number is a trump.
- 3
Lead and follow
The bidder leads. A domino belongs to its higher end, unless it holds the trump number. Follow the suit led if you can.
- 4
Win the tricks
The highest trump wins, or else the highest domino of the suit led, with the double on top. The winner leads next.
- 5
Make your bid
Take at least the points you bid, from tricks and count together, and your team wins the mark.
- 6
Get set
Fall short and the other team wins the mark, even though they did not bid.
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.
6 quick lessons, one idea each. Make the call, see why it works, and move on. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Which are trumps?
Threes are trump. Which of these dominoes is NOT a trump?
Your tiles
Scoring
Forty-two points a hand.
A hand is worth 42 points to be won: one for each trick and the count on five dominoes. Only one team wins a mark each hand.
| What it is | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| Each trick | 1 | |
| 5-0, 4-1 and 3-2 | 5 each | |
| 6-4 and 5-5 | 10 each | |
| All of it, in one hand | 42 |
Our Classic rules: bids from 30 to 42, trump is a number or doubles, and a hand with no bid is bid by the dealer at 30. Some tables add “no trump” hands and bids of two or more marks; those are house rules.
Strategy
Play it smart. Then play it feral.
Tip 1
Bid on your trumps and your doubles.
Count the top dominoes you hold in a suit: the double and the next few. Those take tricks.
Tip 2
Draw their trumps.
If you won the bid, lead your highest trump early to pull the other side’s out of their hands.
Tip 3
Feed the count to your partner.
When your partner is winning and nobody can beat them, play a count domino on the trick.
Tip 4
Never feed the other side.
When you can’t win a trick, throw away a domino with no count in it.
Tip 5
Keep track of the doubles.
The double of a suit is its highest domino. Once it is gone, the next in the suit is the new boss.
What would you do?
One decision. Every day.
A new Texas 42 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 Texas 42 table with your people.
The Feral Worlds community
Play-testing Texas 42? 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.
- Trick
- One domino from each player. The highest trump wins it, or else the highest of the suit led.
- Trump
- The suit that beats the others: every domino with the trump number, or the doubles.
- Bid
- How many of the 42 points your side says it will take.
- Count
- The five dominoes worth extra points: 5-0, 4-1, 3-2 (5 each) and 6-4, 5-5 (10 each).
- Mark
- What a team wins for making its bid, or for setting the bidders.
- Set
- Taking fewer points than you bid. The other team wins the mark.
- Suit
- The number a domino is played as: its higher end, unless it holds the trump number.
The Feral twist
Still under the hat.
Every game can be played Classic. In Feral mode, the host writes the house rules: no trump, bids of marks, the target score. We'll show you what Texas 42 can do when it's ready.
In the Tile Games pack
Texas 42 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.
Texas 42 is on the ballot
Save me a seat.
Hear when the Kickstarter opens so you can vote Texas 42 into the Tile Games pack, and when you can host it with friends.