How to Play Chicken Foot Domino Game

Play a double, call chicken foot, and nobody plays anywhere else until three more tiles make its toes.

How to Play Chicken Foot Domino Game

  1. 1: Mix the tiles face down. Each player draws seven. The rest is the boneyard.The usual set is a double nine, 55 tiles. Other deals have a sheet of their own.
  2. 2: Round one starts with the 9-9, the highest double, in the middle of the table.Whoever holds it leads it. If nobody does, everyone draws one more tile until it turns up. Later rounds start one double lower.
  3. 3: The next four tiles must be 9s, one on each of the four sides of the 9-9.Turns pass to the left, one tile a turn. Nothing else may be played until the four are down.
  4. 4: No tile to play? Draw one from the boneyard. Play it if it fits, or pass.One draw a turn, never more.
  5. 5: After that, play one tile a turn on any open end, matching the number it touches.An open end is the free half of the last tile on an arm.
  6. 6: Play a double crosswise on an end and call "chicken foot".Some tables call the number: "chickie fours" for the 4-4.
  7. 7: The next three tiles played, by anyone, must go on that double.They are the toes. After the third, every open end is in play again.
  8. 8: The round ends when a player's last tile is played, or when nobody can play.Nobody can play when no tile fits and the boneyard is empty.
  9. 9: Count the pips left in each hand. After the last round the lowest total wins.The last round is the one the 0-0 starts.

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Standard game 9

  • 1: Mix the tiles face down. Each player draws seven. The rest is the boneyard. The usual set is a double nine, 55 tiles. Other deals have a sheet of their own.
  • 2: Round one starts with the 9-9, the highest double, in the middle of the table. Whoever holds it leads it. If nobody does, everyone draws one more tile until it turns up. Later rounds start one double lower.
  • 3: The next four tiles must be 9s, one on each of the four sides of the 9-9. Turns pass to the left, one tile a turn. Nothing else may be played until the four are down.
  • 4: No tile to play? Draw one from the boneyard. Play it if it fits, or pass. One draw a turn, never more.
  • 5: After that, play one tile a turn on any open end, matching the number it touches. An open end is the free half of the last tile on an arm.
  • 6: Play a double crosswise on an end and call "chicken foot". Some tables call the number: "chickie fours" for the 4-4.
  • 7: The next three tiles played, by anyone, must go on that double. They are the toes. After the third, every open end is in play again.
  • 8: The round ends when a player's last tile is played, or when nobody can play. Nobody can play when no tile fits and the boneyard is empty.
  • 9: Count the pips left in each hand. After the last round the lowest total wins. The last round is the one the 0-0 starts.
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The chicken foot, tile by tile 9

  • 1: A double on an end lies across it, one long side against the tile it matches. A 4-4 goes on a free 4, such as the 4 of a 6-4.
  • 2: The three toes go on its other long side. The middle toe points straight out. The two beside it angle away at 45 degrees.
  • 3: Each toe has the double's number on the half that touches it. On a 4-4 the toes could be the 4-3, the 4-0 and the 4-2.
  • 4: Until the third toe is down, no tile may be played anywhere else. Any player may lay a toe, not only the one who played the double.
  • 5: With no tile for the foot, draw one. Play it if it matches the double, or pass. The next player then has the same choice.
  • 6: A finished foot leaves three new open ends, one on each toe. The next tile may go on any of them, or on any other open end.
  • 7: The starting double follows the same rule: four tiles on it before anything else. It has a tile on each of its four sides, so it does not end an arm.
  • 8: A foot can stall: its number runs out, the boneyard is empty and nobody can play. The round ends there, and everyone counts their pips.
  • 9: Angled toes keep the arms of the layout from running into each other. The layout grows like a tree, with a branch at every double.

Scoring by pips left in hand 9

  • 1: When a round ends, each player adds up the pips on the tiles still in hand. Those are points against you.
  • 2: The player who went out scores nothing for the round. An empty hand has no pips to count.
  • 3: The 0-0 left in a hand counts 50. Some tables make it 25.
  • 4: A blank half on any other tile counts nothing. The 6-0 counts 6.
  • 5: A worked hand (ours): the 6-5, the 3-0 and the 2-2 left in a hand count 18. 11 and 3 and 4.
  • 6: Write each round's points under each name and keep a running total. The totals only ever go up.
  • 7: Play one round for each double in the set: ten rounds with a double nine set. 9-9 first, then 8-8, down to 0-0. A double twelve set makes thirteen rounds.
  • 8: After the round the 0-0 starts, the player with the lowest total wins. Another way: stop when someone reaches an agreed total. The lowest total still wins.
  • 9: Variation: a player whose last tile is a double takes 50 points for it. One of our two sources has this rule. The other does not.

How many tiles to draw 9

  • 1: The simple deal: seven tiles each. More when few players share a big set: four with a double twelve can draw 15 each.
  • 2: A double six set works for two or three players: five tiles each. Seven rounds, from the 6-6 down to the 0-0.
  • 3: Double nine, a fuller deal: two players draw 20 each, three draw 14, four draw 11. From one domino maker's table.
  • 4: Double nine, a fuller deal: five players draw 9 each, six draw 7. The same table. It stops at six players for this set.
  • 5: Double nine, a lighter deal: two players draw 12 each, three draw 11, four draw 10. Others suggest starting with fewer tiles, as here.
  • 6: Double twelve: four players draw 18 each, five draw 14, six draw 12. From the same maker's table.
  • 7: Double twelve: seven players draw 10 each, eight draw 9. The table gives larger sets for larger groups.
  • 8: A double nine set has 55 tiles. A double twelve set has 91. Four or more players make the best game.
  • 9: The tiles nobody draws stay face down as the boneyard, also called the chicken yard. The layout on the table is the barnyard.

Starting a round and house rules 9

  • 1: Nobody holds the starting double? Everyone draws one more tile until it turns up. Whoever draws it leads it.
  • 2: Variation: put the round's double on the table before anyone draws. The turn to play first then passes around the table, round by round.
  • 3: Another start: in round one each player draws one tile, and the highest goes first. Those tiles go back into the boneyard before play.
  • 4: Variation: six tiles on the starting double, three on each long side. It is called a double chicken foot.
  • 5: Boneyard empty and no tile fits: you pass, and the next player plays. You simply miss the turn.
  • 6: A drawn tile that fits may be played at once, in the same turn. If it does not fit it stays in your hand.
  • 7: Down to one tile? Saying so is a courtesy, not a rule. The others can then play a double to make you draw.
  • 8: House rule: you must announce your last tile. Caught forgetting, you draw a tile. With the boneyard empty you miss your next turn.
  • 9: Blocked round: nobody can play and the boneyard is empty. Everyone counts their pips. The next round starts with the next double down.

How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-09, in our own words. Chicken Foot, also spelled Chickenfoot and also called Chickie Dominoes, is a domino game with no governing body. The sheets were checked on 2026-10-09 against English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, in its article on the game: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenfoot_(domino_game), and against the rules site Pagat: https://www.pagat.com/domino/tree/chickenfoot.html. Both give a round for each double of the set from the highest down to the 0-0, a starting double that takes four tiles before anything else, one tile drawn by a player who cannot play, doubles played crosswise, three tiles on every double before play goes on, the pips left in hand as the score, 50 for the double blank and the lowest total winning. Seven tiles each, the first player of round one found by drawing a tile, the call of the number, the toes at 45 degrees, the blank half that counts nothing, the 50 points for a last tile that is a double and four players drawing 15 from a double twelve set are as Wikipedia gives them. The holder of the starting double leading it, the extra tiles drawn until that double turns up, the double set out before the draw, the double chicken foot, the names chicken yard and barnyard, the 25-point double blank, the game played to an agreed total, the last-tile announcement and its penalties, the five-tile deal for a double six set, the lighter deal and the fuller deal, which Pagat quotes from a domino maker's table, are as Pagat gives them. The sources differ on where the game began, and this page does not say. Boxed sets are sold under the same name; this page is the game for any domino set and has no tie to a maker. The row marked ours is this site's own and is not official; its sum, the count of rounds for each set and the seven rounds of a double six set were worked out from the tiles. Licence: own work

How it works

Chicken Foot is a domino game for two or more players, best with four or more, and a double nine set. Every double has to grow three toes before play moves on, and the lowest total of pips left in hand wins.

Read the full guide

How to play the Chicken Foot game: an explanation of one turn

Say the 9-9 sits in the middle with the 9-4, 9-1, 9-6 and 9-2 around it, and you hold the 4-4. Lay it across the free 4 and call chicken foot. The next three tiles played must each have a 4: the 4-3, the 4-0 and the 4-7, say. Now the open ends are 1, 6, 2, 3, 0 and 7.

How many rounds make a game?

One for each double in the set: ten with a double nine set, thirteen with a double twelve. How many tiles to draw has a deal for each set and head count.

  • Play the 0-0 early, so a round cannot end with it in your hand.
  • Lay a double when another player is down to one tile. It can force them to draw.

Questions and answers

How do you play the game Chicken Foot?

Draw seven tiles each. Start with the highest double and play four tiles onto it. Then match open ends, one tile a turn. Every double played must get three more tiles, its toes, before play goes on. The fewest pips left in hand wins.

How do you play the Chickenfoot dominoes game with a double twelve set?

The same way, starting with the 12-12. One maker's table has four players draw 18 tiles each, five draw 14 and six draw 12.

How many dominoes do you start with in Chicken Foot?

Seven each in the simplest deal. Other deals depend on the set and the head count: with a double nine set, four players may draw 10 or 11 tiles each.

What is the double blank worth in Chicken Foot?

Fifty points against you if it is still in your hand when a round ends, or 25 at some tables. Every other tile counts its pips.

Can you go out on a double in Chicken Foot?

Sources differ. One says a player whose last tile is a double takes 50 points for it; the other has no such rule. Agree before the first round.

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