The following is a partial list of games played with domino tiles or similar equipment. The most typical domino games are layout games, i.e. games in which the players add matching tiles from their hand to a layout or tableau in the middle of the table. These can be either blocking games, in which the object is to empty one's hand; scoring games, in which the players can score during the game by creating certain configurations; or trick and trump games which draw inspiration from card games. Likewise there are also domino-like card games, e.g., Sevens and the once very popular Pope Joan.
Block or "the Block Game" for two players is the simplest basic domino variant and gives its name to the whole family of 'block games'. It requires a double-six set, from which each player must draw seven tiles; the remainder is not used. The first player sets a tile on the table which starts the line of play. The players alternately extend it with one matching tile at one of its two ends. A player who cannot do this passes. The game ends when one player dominoes by playing their last tile, thus winning the hand, or when the game is blocked because neither player can play. A winner who has dominoed, scores the total remaining pip count of the loser's hand. The winner of a blocked game is the player with the lower pip count, who scores the difference of the pip counts. [1]
There are also variants for four players. [1]
Chickenfoot is a modern game related to the Cyprus family which begins with a spinner which is played four or six ways. Every subsequent double becomes another spinner that must be played a further three ways in the shape of a chicken foot before any other open ends of the tableau may be played.
Cyprus is a variant of Sebastopol, but played by 4–10 players with a double-nine set. It is best described as a variant of the Draw game. Most, in some variants all, tiles are drawn by the players. The layout starts with a double, and the next eight tiles played must be attached to it, so that the layout is a star with eight open ends. The game proceeds like the Draw game, except that a player who cannot play need not draw more than once. [2]
Draw or "the Draw Game" is one of the two basic forms of the game of dominoes, the other being "the Block Game," [3] and "most characteristic domino games are elaborations of it." [4] It gives its name to the family of 'draw games'. Initially each player draws seven tiles from a double-six set. The first player places a tile on the table which starts the line of play. The players alternately extend it with one matching tile at one of its two ends. The main difference from the block game is that players who cannot play must draw tiles until they find one which can be played or the stock consists of exactly two tiles. [1] The pip count of the remaining stock (at least two tiles) is added to the losing player's remaining pip count to form the score of the game.
Maltese Cross is a variant of Sebastopol for 2–4 players. Like Sebastopol, it uses a double-six set. Each player draws 5 tiles (7 tiles in the case of two players). As in Cyprus, a player who cannot play must draw one tile and may play it if possible. Once the central spinner and the four adjacent tiles have been played, the next four tiles to be played must be doubles, which are turned crosswise to form the likeness of a Maltese cross, but do not act as spinners. [5]
Matador or Russian Dominoes is another blocking game whose unique feature is that, in playing a piece, players must ensure the ends add up to seven, as opposed to the usual rule whereby the ends are simply matched. Since blanks cannot be matched in this way, the game has four matadors [lower-alpha 1] which may played at any time, but especially when the open end of the tableau is a blank.
This member of the trains family of games, similar to the basic version of trains but with an additional 'Mexican train', is played mainly in the United States. It is typically played by at least four players using at least a double-twelve set. [6]
The game starts with a double in the middle of the table, acting as a spinner from which the players' "private trains" branch off. An additional 'Mexican train', initially of length zero, also starts from the central spinner.
Unless the tile played is a double, only one tile can be played per turn. Tiles must normally be played to the player's own train or the Mexican train. A player who cannot play must draw a tile and play that; if the stock is empty or the tile drawn cannot be played, the player must pass and mark their own train as public, allowing other players to use it like their own train and the Mexican train. The train becomes private again as soon as the owner adds a tile to it.
Some variations of the game have special rules for the first round, and additional rules to ensure that doubles at the end of trains are 'satisfied' as quickly as possible.
Mexican Train can be regarded as a synthesis of the Trains and Cyprus families of games, with the addition of the Mexican train.
Sebastopol is best described as a four-player variant of the block game. The game starts with a double in the middle, from which the line of play takes off in four directions. The next four tiles played must be attached to this central spinner. [1] [7]
This game, developed by James F. and Edna Graham, is played with a standard double-nine set plus eleven additional tiles representing combinations of the standard values 0–9 with an additional "spinner" symbol and the double "spinner". A "spinner" matches any other value (similar to a wild card). [8]
Each player draws 14 (two players) or 7 (three to eight players) tiles. Play starts with the double 9, or with the double "spinner" to replace it. The second and third tile played must match with a 9 or a "spinner". Whenever a double is played later in the game, it serves as a spinner in the ordinary sense, and the line of play cannot be continued elsewhere before there are tiles on all four sides of the double. A player who cannot play must draw a tile from the stock and may play it immediately if it matches. The second game starts with the double 8, the third game with a double 7, and so on down to the double 0. [8]
This is an old English game, variously spelt Tiddley-Wink, Tiddly-Wink and Tiddle-a-Wink. It is the Block Game with the additional rule that playing a double entitles the player to another play. [8]
The games of the trains family are typically played between four to ten players with double-nine or double-twelve sets.
In the basic version of the game, the number of tiles that each player draws initially depends on the number of players and the size of the set. If one player does not have a double, the tiles are shuffled again. [9] In the first round each player plays a double to start a private line of play, known as a train. In subsequent rounds, players first add a tile to their own train or pass if they cannot do this. A player who did not pass can also add at most one tile each to each of the other players' trains. [9] A player who empties their hand wins the game and scores 120 points plus 5 points for each tile that remains in an opposing players' hands. [9]
This is a variant of the Draw game in which scoring happens mostly during the game. There are no spinners, so that the line of play does not branch. Players score 2 points by playing a tile that makes the same value appear at both ends of the line of play, and 3 points if moreover there is a double at one end. Another 2 are scored by the player who empties their hand and ends the game, or by the player who is determined (by variable and sometimes complicated rules) to be the winner of a blocked game. [10]
A variant in which the line of play must start with a double, which acts as a spinner, is known as Double Bergen. [11]
Muggins, one of several games also known as All Fives , is a variant of the Draw game in which, in addition to the scoring at the end of the game, players can score in each move if the total pip count of the endpoints of the line of play is divisible by 5. Muggins was originally distinguished from classic All Fives by the addition of the 'muggins rule', whereby if a player failed to announce his score as he played his tile, or if he miscounted, his opponent could cry "Muggins!" and the points were forfeited as in cribbage. Moreover, classic All Fives uses a cribbage board for scoring and the pip count is divided by five to get the game points. So a score of 10 pips is worth 2 points.
In the variant of Sniff , the first double is a spinner called the sniff which is open on all four sides; in the variant of Five Up , all doubles can be used as spinners, from which lines of play branch. In yet another variant, All Threes , players score if the total pip count of the endpoints is divisible by 3, in Fives and Threes they score if it is divisible by 3 or 5. There are two versions of modern All Fives both of which employ Muggins scoring: one with a single spinner like Sniff which, however, must be played crosswise and does not count once both sides are played to, and one with no spinner, but the Tiddly-Wink rule that a player who plays a double may play another piece immediately after it.
5s and 3s is a skillful version of dominoes played in pairs or fours and used in competitions and in leagues. The aim is to be the first player to exactly reach a set number of points in a round, often 61. Each player has a hand of dominoes and play proceeds as normal dominoes by matching an open end. The total number of pips at the open ends (with doubles counting twice) are used to decide if a player scores points. One point is scored for each time this total is exactly divisible by either 5 or 3. So if the play started double 6 it would score 4 points as 12/3 is exactly 4. If the next player played a 6-3 then the maximum is scored for a single turn of 15 for 8 points (5 for the 3s and 3 for the 5s). If the next player were to play 6-1 the total would be 4 and they would score no points. [12] [13]
42, also known as Texas 42, is a trick-taking game played with a standard set of double-six dominoes. The rules are similar to the card game of Spades. Originally invented in Texas, it is often referred to as the "national game of Texas".
This trick-taking game for two players is similar to Sixty-Six and Bezique. Each player draws 7 tiles from a double-six set. Then a tile is turned up from the stock, and the higher of its two values determines the trump suit. For this rule and in general, the value of a blank is considered to be 7, not 0.
The winner of a trick is determined as follows. 0–0 (the bingo) beats everything else, the double of trumps beats all other trumps, and trumps beat all non-trumps except 0–0. If both tiles are non-trumps one simply compares their total pip counts.
In the first phase of the game each trick is followed by both players drawing a tile from the stock. As soon as the stock is exhausted or one player "closes the game" by announcing that they will score at least 70 points, the players stop drawing. From this point on the second player in each trick is obliged to follow suit as follows: Whenever possible, a trump must be answered by a trump, and a non-trump by a tile that matches its higher end if possible, or otherwise its lower end.
Scoring in this game is relatively complicated. [14]
This trick-taking game can be played by two or three players with a double-five set (obtained from a double-six set by removing the seven tiles showing a 6) or by four players with a full double-six set. After shuffling, each player draws 8 tiles (four-player variant: 6 tiles).
The first player can play any tile from their hand. Each of the other players adds another tile to the trick; if possible it must have one value in common with the lead tile. Among those tiles for which the higher value is the same as the higher value of the lead tile, the one with the highest pip count takes the trick. Each four in a trick scores one point for the player who takes it.
This adaptation of the Concentration card game is generally played by two players. The tiles are placed face down on the table, shuffled and then arranged in a simple rectangular grid.
The goal is to collect the largest number of pairs of tiles. With double-six dominoes, pairs consist of any two tiles whose pips sum to 12. For example, the 3–5 and the 0–4 form a pair. In some variations, doubles can only form pairs with other doubles so that the 2–2, for example, can only be paired with the 4–4 but this presents a problem with the 3-3 being unpairable.
Players, in turn, try to collect pairs by turning over and exposing the faces of two tiles from the grid. If the four values of the two sum to 12, the player takes the two tiles, scores a point (in some rules a point for each tile taken), and plays again. If the tally is any other number, the bones are turned face down again and the player's turn is over.
The first player to accumulate 50 (or 100) points wins the series.
There are a number of domino-like games that use proprietary tiles.
This proprietary variation of the standard draw game was created by Thierry Denoual. It is played with a double-six domino set which is standard except that every tile is bent into a 120-degree curve, so that three tiles can be assembled into a circle. This allows either end of the line of play to be blocked or both ends to connect.
This transportation-themed variation of the Draw game uses 140 square tiles. A small number of tiles allow the line of play to branch. Due to 90-degree curves the line of play can also get blocked in one or more directions.
Chinese dominoes are used in several tile-based games, namely, tien gow, pai gow, tiu u and kap tai shap. In Cantonese they are called gwāt pái (骨牌), which literally means "bone tiles"; it is also the name of a northern Chinese game, where the rules are quite different from the southern Chinese version of tien gow.
Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ends. Each end is marked with a number of spots or is blank. The backs of the tiles in a set are indistinguishable, either blank or having some common design. The gaming pieces make up a domino set, sometimes called a deck or pack. The traditional European domino set consists of 28 tiles, also known as pieces, bones, rocks, stones, men, cards or just dominoes, featuring all combinations of spot counts between zero and six. A domino set is a generic gaming device, similar to playing cards or dice, in that a variety of games can be played with a set. Another form of entertainment using domino pieces is the practice of domino toppling.
Hearts is an "evasion-type" trick-taking playing card game for four players, although most variations can accommodate between three and six players. It was first recorded in America in the 1880s and has many variants, some of which are also referred to as "Hearts", especially the games of Black Lady and Black Maria. The game is a member of the Whist group of trick-taking games, but is unusual among Whist variants in that it is a trick-avoidance game; players avoid winning certain penalty cards in tricks, usually by avoiding winning tricks altogether. The original game of Hearts is still current but has been overtaken in popularity by Black Lady in the United States and Black Maria in Great Britain.
A trick-taking game is a card or tile-based game in which play of a hand centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called tricks, which are each evaluated to determine a winner or taker of that trick. The object of such games then may be closely tied to the number of tricks taken, as in plain-trick games such as contract bridge, whist, and spades, or to the value of the cards contained in taken tricks, as in point-trick games such as pinochle, the tarot family, briscola, and most evasion games like hearts. Trick-and-draw games are trick-taking games in which the players can fill up their hands after each trick. In most variants, players are free to play any card into a trick in the first phase of the game, but must follow suit as soon as the stock is depleted. Trick-avoidance games like reversis or polignac are those in which the aim is to avoid taking some or all tricks.
Tien Gow or Tin Kau is the name of Chinese gambling games played with either a pair of dice or a set of 32 Chinese dominoes. In these games, Heaven is the top rank of the civil suit, while Nine is the top rank of the military suit. The civil suit was originally called the Chinese (華) suit while the military suit was called the barbarian (夷) suit but this was changed during the Qing dynasty to avoid offending the ruling Manchus. The highly idiosyncratic and culture-specific suit-system of these games is likely the conceptual origin of suits, an idea that later is used for playing cards. Play is counter-clockwise.
Shut the box is a game of dice for one or more players, commonly played in a group of two to four for stakes. Traditionally, a counting box is used with tiles numbered 1 to 9 where each can be covered with a hinged or sliding mechanism, though the game can be played with only a pair of dice, pen, and paper. Variations exist where the box has 10 or 12 tiles. In 2018 the game had a renaissance in Liverpool, England, when it became the house game at Hobo Kiosk pub on the Baltic Triangle. It was popularized by DJ duo Coffee and Turntables and became the most played board game in Merseyside for 4 years in a row.
42, also known as Texas 42, is a trick-taking game played with a standard set of double six dominoes. 42 is often referred to as the "state game of Texas". Tournaments are held in many towns, and the State Championship tournament is held annually in Hallettsville, Texas on the first Saturday of March each year. In 2011 it was designated the official State Domino Game of Texas.
Domino, also known as Card Dominoes, Spoof, Sevens, Fan Tan (US) or Parliament (UK), is a card game of the Layout Group of matching card games for 3–8 players in which players aim to shed cards by matching the preceding ones or, if unable, must draw from the stock. Cards are played out to form a layout of sequences going up and down in suit from the agreed starting card. The game is won by the player who is first to empty their hand. The game is a cross between dominoes and patience and is suitable for children who have learnt the various card values.
Barbu, also known as Tafferan, is a trick-taking, compendium card game similar to hearts, in which four players take turns leading seven different sub-games over the course of 28 deals. Barbu originated in France in the early 20th century where it was especially popular with university students, and became a prominent game among French bridge players in the 1960s. The French version of the game was originally played with a stripped deck of 32 cards ranked seven to ace in each suit. Modern forms are played with a full 52-card deck. Barbu may be descended from earlier compendium games popular with students and originating in the Austro-Hungarian Empire such as Lorum or Quodlibet.
Muggins, sometimes also called All Fives, is a domino game played with any of the commonly available sets. Although suitable for up to four players, Muggins is described by John McLeod as "a good, quick two player game".
Chickenfoot or Chicken Foot, also called Chicken-Foot Dominoes and Chickie Dominoes, is a Block domino game of the "Trains" family for 2 to 12 players invented by Louis and Betty Howsley in 1986. Chicken Foot is played in rounds, one round for each double domino in the set and is best for 4 to 7 players.
Matador or Matadore, sometimes called Russian Dominoes, is a domino game for two to four players using a double six set of dominoes. It is one of the blocking family of domino games in which the object of the game is to be the first to go out, while blocking one's opponents from doing so. Its distinguishing feature is the unusual rule of playing tiles so as to combine pips instead of matching numbers.
Mexican Train is a game played with dominoes. The object of the game is for a player to play all the tiles from his or her hand onto one or more chains, or trains, emanating from a central hub or "station". The game's most popular name comes from a special optional train that belongs to all players. However, the game can be played without the Mexican train; such variants are generally called "private trains" or "domino trains". It is related to the game Chicken Foot.
Twenty-eight is an Indian trick-taking card game for four players, in which the Jack and the nine are the highest cards in every suit, followed by ace and ten. It thought to be descended from the game 304, along with similar Indian games known as "29", "40" and "56".
Bendomino is a tabletop strategy game similar to dominoes, created by Thierry Denoual and published by Blue Orange Games in 2007. It is a set of double-6 dominoes with a 120-degree curve. The main difference from dominoes is the curved shape of the pieces, which introduces a new level of strategy to the game. There is also a version of the game for younger players with pictures instead of numbers and symbols on the Bendomino tiles.
Kiu kiu or qiu qiu is a game of dominoes popular in Indonesia related to pai gow. It may also be referred to as 99 domino poker.
Zwanzigerrufen or Zwanz'gerrufen is the leading trick-taking card game of the Tarock family in many regions of eastern Austria. Its rules are simpler than the game of Königrufen which is more widely played in the whole of Austria. As is common in Tarock games, the cards have various point values – the primary goal in an individual game is to win the majority of points.
The trull is a trio of three special trump cards used in tarock games in Austria and other countries that have a much higher card value than the other trumps. The individual cards are known as trull cards (Trullstücke). The word trull is derived from the French tous les trois which means "all three".
Droggn, sometimes called French Tarock is an extinct card game of the Tarock family for three players that was played in the Stubai valley in Tyrol, Austria until the 1980s. Droggn is originally local dialect for "to play Tarock", but it has become the proper name of this specific Tarock variant. An unusual feature of the game compared with other Tarock games is the use of a 66-card deck and that, until recently, there was no record in the literature of a 66-card game and no current manufacturers of such a deck. The structure of the game strongly indicates that it is descended from the later version of Tarok l'Hombre, a 78-card Tarock game popular in 19th-century Austria and Germany, but with the subsequent addition of two higher bids.
The following is a glossary of terms used in dominoes. Besides the terms listed here, there are numerous regional or local slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific, i.e. specific to one particular version of dominoes, but apply to a wide range of domino games. For glossaries that relate primarily to one game or family of similar games, see the relevant article.
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