Dominoes
BoardTap a highlighted tile to play it.
How to Play
Goal: Be first to play all your tiles, or hold the fewest pips if the round blocks. The winner scores the pips left in the loser's hand, and your running total is saved on your device.
Controls: Tap any tile outlined in orange to play it. If a tile fits both ends of the chain you will be asked which end to use. Tap Draw when you cannot play and the boneyard still has tiles.
Rules: Standard double-six set, seven tiles each, fourteen in the boneyard. A tile must match one of the two open ends. Doubles sit crosswise on the chain, exactly as they would on a table.
About Dominoes
Dominoes takes about ninety seconds to learn and considerably longer to play well. Match a tile against one of the two open ends of the chain, and if you cannot, draw from the boneyard until you can. The rules are almost embarrassingly simple, which is exactly why the game has been played across most of the world for centuries.
The depth lives in the endgame. Because you can see every tile you hold and every tile on the table, you can work out what your opponent might still be holding. If both open ends show the same number and you hold most of that number, there is a good chance they cannot play at all. Creating that situation deliberately is called blocking, and it is the difference between a beginner and a competent player.
Our version handles the fiddly part for you: playable tiles are highlighted, so you spend your attention on which tile to play rather than on scanning your hand for playable moves. The computer plays a genuine blocking game rather than dumping tiles at random, which means the last few turns of a round have real tension.
Dominoes tactics that win rounds
- Before you play, look at what number your move leaves exposed. That question, not which tile scores most, is the whole game.
- If you can leave both open ends showing the same number, and you hold several of that number, you have squeezed your opponent hard.
- Play doubles early. A double only attaches on one number, so it is the hardest tile to shed and the one most likely to be stranded in your hand.
- Keep a double as a blocking tool only when you also hold most of that number. Otherwise it is a liability, not a weapon.
- Shed heavy tiles when the round looks likely to block, because a blocked round is scored on the pips you are still holding.
FAQ
What are the rules of dominoes?
Play a tile that matches one of the two open ends of the chain. If you cannot match either end, draw from the boneyard until you can, or pass if it is empty. The round ends when someone plays their last tile or nobody can move.
How is dominoes scored?
The winner of a round scores the total pips left in the loser's hand. You win either by playing your last tile, or, in a blocked round, by holding the fewest pips.
What is blocking in dominoes?
Deliberately leaving the chain's open ends showing numbers your opponent probably cannot match, forcing them to draw or pass. It is the main skill that separates a strong player from a beginner.
Should I play doubles early or hold them?
Usually early. A double attaches on only one number rather than two, which makes it the hardest tile to get rid of and the one most likely to cost you a blocked round.
How good is the computer opponent?
It plays a real blocking game. It favours moves that leave open ends it can still answer itself, prefers to squeeze both ends onto one number, and sheds heavy tiles early rather than playing at random.
