In partnership play, the holder of the 6-6 (the double six) must open the first hand with it, as in the most common Brazilian rules. In one on one play not every tile is dealt, so the holder of the highest double opens; with no doubles at all, the tile with the highest pip total. On later hands the next player counterclockwise opens by default, with any tile. In House rules you can make the winner of the previous hand open instead, as some rulebooks do.
Dominoes
Dominoes
Table dominoes against the computer: partnered with a teammate or one on one, with blocked games and a match to 50 points
Table dominoes, partnered or one on one, against opponents that count the tiles
Dominoes uses 28 tiles, from 0-0 to 6-6, each with two numbered halves. This version follows the partnership game played in Brazil: four players, two teams seated alternately, 7 tiles each and a match to 50 points. The holder of the 6-6 opens the first hand with it and play goes counterclockwise. On your turn you match a tile to a number showing at either end of the line; with no matching tile you pass. A hand ends when someone goes out by playing their last tile, and their team scores the pips left in the opponents' hands. If nobody can play any more the game is blocked: the team with fewer pips in hand wins and scores the other team's pips, and on a tie the team that blocked loses. You can also play one on one, in the block style (no drawing) or drawing from the boneyard until you find a tile that fits. Everything that varies by region (who opens the next hand, a tied block, what going out is worth) lives in House rules. The computer plays at four honest levels: easy plays any tile that fits, medium always sheds its heaviest tile, hard counts the tiles played and deduces from passes what each rival lacks, and master also simulates hundreds of possible deals of the tiles it cannot see before choosing. No level can see your hand. The game saves in your browser, and you can undo your last move, ask for a hint and follow your statistics.
Tap the tile, tap the end
- Pick the mode (partnership or 1 vs 1), the computer level and the target score, then tap Start match.
- On your turn, tap a tile in your hand. The ends where it fits light up on the table: tap one to play, or drag the tile there. If only one end is possible, the tile plays right away.
- With no matching tile the game passes for you (or you draw from the boneyard in the draw game). When the hand ends, look at the leftover tiles and go on to the next one until someone reaches the target.
Sources and references for this tool
These references help contextualize formulas, standards, APIs and limitations used on this page. They do not replace professional validation when a result has legal, financial, medical or operational impact.
- Dominoes rules (Brazilian partnership game)Megajogos, Brazilian partnership rules: 28 tiles, 7 per player, the 6-6 holder opens, a blocked game goes to the lowest pip count (tie: the blocker loses) and the match is played to 50 points.
- Dominoes rules (UNESP handout)UNESP, Ibilce, Rule sheet for partnership dominoes, with tile values (sum of the halves) and cumulative scoring to 50.
- Latin Partnership DominoesPagat.com, Regional variations of the partnership game (who opens the next hand, tied blocks, scoring when going out) that became the house rules.
- Draw Dominoes and Block DominoesPagat.com, Two-player game with 7 tiles and drawing from the boneyard, the rule of leaving 2 tiles undrawn and scoring by leftover pips.