How to Play Dominoes

What you need

A double-six domino set (28 tiles), 2–4 players, and something to score with. Or skip the box entirely and play dominoes free in your browser — the TV shows the line of play and your phone holds your tiles.

Setup

1. Shuffle all 28 tiles face-down. Each player draws seven.
2. The remaining tiles stay face-down as the boneyard.
3. The player holding the highest double (double-six if anyone has it) plays it to start the line. If no one holds a double, the player with the heaviest tile starts.

Taking a turn

1. Play one tile whose end matches one of the two open ends of the line — a 6-3 can join a line ending in a 6 or a 3.
2. Can't play? Draw from the boneyard until you draw a tile that plays (that's the "draw" in draw dominoes). If the boneyard is empty and you still can't play, you pass.
3. Doubles are laid across the line but don't branch it — in draw dominoes there are no spinners.

Ending a round & scoring

1. The round ends when one player plays their last tile ("going out" / "domino!").
2. The winner scores the total pips left in every opponent's hand.
3. If the game blocks — nobody can play and the boneyard is empty — the player with the lightest hand wins the round and scores the difference against each opponent.
4. Play rounds until someone reaches the target score — 100 points is the classic game.

The disputes every table argues about

Do I have to play a tile if I can? Yes — in standard draw dominoes you can't hold back a playable tile to draw instead.

Can I keep drawing after I find a playable tile? No. You stop at the first tile that plays, and you must play it.

Do doubles count double when scoring? No — a leftover double-six is 12 pips, same as its face.

Want a bigger game?

With 5 or more players — or if your table likes building personal trains from a center engine — play Mexican Train instead: a double-twelve set, up to 8 players, markers and doubles rules. Read the complete Mexican Train rules guide.