Dominoes
Dominoes here is the draw game, played with a standard double-six set of 28 tiles. Every piece carries two numbers, and the table grows into a single line as players match one number to another. Empty your hand first and the round is yours.
Up to four people can play. Seats you do not fill go to computer opponents at Easy, Medium or Hard, or you can pass one phone or tablet around the room. It all runs in a browser, with nothing to download.
How to play Dominoes
In a two-player round each person starts with seven tiles. With three or four players, the deal is five tiles apiece. Leftover tiles sit face down as the stock, and whoever holds the highest double leads.
The two open ends of the line are shown in big boxes above it. On your turn, play a tile that shares a number with one of those ends, placing the matching halves together. Laying a 5-3 on an open 5 leaves a 3 showing there.
No fit in your hand means you draw from the stock until something works. If the stock is gone and you still have nothing, you pass. A round stops when a hand is empty or when everyone passes in a row; in a blocked round the lowest pip total wins. There is also a Triangles variant with three-sided tiles where every touching corner must match.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lay a tile | — | Click a tile, then the end to play it on | Tap a tile, then the end |
| Draw | — | Click Draw from stock | Tap Draw from stock |
| Pass | — | Click Pass (stock empty) | Tap Pass (stock empty) |
| Reveal your hand on a shared device | — | Click Show my tiles | Tap Show my tiles |
| New round | — | Set mode, players, variant and level, then New game | Set options, then New game |
Tips
- Get doubles out of your hand early. A double can only ever join one number, which makes it the piece that gets stuck most often.
- Play high-scoring tiles before low ones. If the line locks up, a 6-6 still in your hand can cost you the round.
- Try to keep tiles with a spread of different numbers. The more numbers you hold, the more ends you can answer.
- When an opponent draws instead of playing on an open 2, they are probably out of 2s. Keep a 2 on the board to squeeze them.
- Each number shows up on exactly seven tiles. Count the ones already played to know when an end is nearly dead.
If you like Dominoes, try these
Dominosa Domino LogicDomino pips become a logic puzzle, splitting a number grid so each pair appears exactly once.
MancalaCounting pieces and planning a few moves ahead also drives this bowl game, where sowing seeds can earn extra turns.
Questions
How many players can play Dominoes here?
Two, three or four. Any seat not taken by a person can be filled by a computer player, and on a shared device each hand stays hidden until its owner taps to see it.
Who wins a blocked game of Dominoes?
When nobody can play and the stock is empty, the player with the fewest total pips left in hand wins the round. Each game is a single round with no running score.
What are triangle dominoes?
The Triangles option replaces the usual tiles with three-sided ones that carry three numbers and are laid on a grid. Every corner that touches another tile must show the same number.
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