Buccaneer1. Deal seven stacks of four tiles, face down, and turn the top tile of each face up.2. Move a top tile onto another top tile that shares a number with it.3. Turn up any tile this uncovers. No stack may hold more than five tiles.4. An empty place takes only a double.5. You win with seven stacks of four, all face up: a double at the bottom of each and three tiles of its number on top.Set: double six. Players: 1.
Partnership Dominoes1. Four players sit as two pairs, partners facing. Deal out all 28 tiles, seven each.2. In the first deal the holder of the 6-6 leads it. Later the lead passes to the right and may be any tile.3. Add one tile a turn to either end of the line. You must play if you can. If you cannot, knock on the table to pass.4. The deal ends when a player goes out, which wins it for that pair, or when all four pass in a row. Then the pair with fewer pips left wins.5. The winners score the pips the losers still hold. The first pair to 100 wins.Set: double six. Players: 4.
Concentration With Dominoes1. Lay all 28 tiles face down in a grid, four rows of seven.2. On your turn, turn up any two tiles.3. If their pips add up to 12, keep both tiles and go again.4. If not, turn them face down again where they lie, and the next player goes.5. The hand is over when the grid is empty. Play hands until someone has taken 50 tiles.Set: double six. Players: 2 or more.
Blind Hughie1. Two players take seven tiles each; three or four take five. Nobody looks: line your tiles up face down in a row. 2. On your turn, turn up the tile at the right end of your row. The first tile turned starts the line. 3. If your tile fits either end of the line, play it. 4. If it does not fit, turn it face down again and put it at the left end of your row. 5. The hand ends when a player's row is used up or nobody can play. The fewest pips left wins it. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Block Dominoes1. Mix the tiles face down. Two players draw seven each; three or four draw five each. The tiles left over are not used. 2. The first player lays any tile. In turn, add one tile to either end of the line so that the touching halves match. 3. Lay a double crosswise. The line does not branch. 4. If you cannot play, pass. 5. The hand ends when someone plays a last tile or nobody can play. Whoever holds the fewest pips scores everyone else's pips, less their own. Game is 100 for two players or two pairs, 61 for three or four. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Chicken Foot1. Each player draws seven tiles. 2. The highest double goes in the middle, and the next four tiles must be played on its four sides. 3. Then play one tile a turn on any open end. If you cannot, draw one tile and play it if it fits. 4. A double is laid crosswise, and the next three tiles played must go on it, spread like a chicken's toes. 5. A round ends when someone goes out or nobody can play, and pips left in hand count against you. Play a round for each double in the set. The lowest total wins. Set: double nine or double twelve. Players: 2 to 8.
Show all 33 games (30 more)
Block and draw games, continued
Cuban Dominoes1. Four players sit as two pairs, partners facing. Each draws ten tiles, and the other 15 stay out of play. 2. The first player lays any tile, and play runs to the right. 3. Add one tile to either end of the line, matching numbers. You must play if you can; if not, pass. 4. The round ends when a player goes out, or when it is blocked: then the player with the fewest pips left wins it. 5. The winner's pair scores the pips their opponents still hold. The first pair to 100 wins. Set: double nine. Players: 4.
Cyprus1. Four players draw nine tiles each, five draw eight, six or seven draw seven, eight or nine draw six, and ten draw five. 2. The holder of the 9-9 lays it in the middle. 3. The next eight tiles played must be nines, set around the 9-9 like the points of a star. A player with no nine draws one tile and plays it if it fits. 4. With all eight arms started, add a tile to the end of any arm. 5. Go out and you score the pips the others hold. Game is 60. Set: double nine. Players: 4 to 10.
Draw Dominoes1. Two or three players take seven tiles each; four take six each. The rest is the boneyard. 2. Add one tile a turn to either end of a single line, matching numbers. Doubles lie crosswise. 3. If you cannot play, take tiles from the boneyard until one fits. 4. The last two tiles of the boneyard are never taken. When only they are left, a player who cannot play passes. 5. The hand ends when someone goes out or nobody can play. The fewest pips left scores the others' pips, less their own, toward 100 or 61. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Maltese Cross1. Two players draw seven tiles each; three or four draw five. The rest is the boneyard. 2. The holder of the highest double lays it in the middle. The next four tiles must match it, one on each side. 3. A player who cannot play draws one tile and plays it if it fits. 4. Next, each of the four arms must take a double, laid crosswise, before play goes on. 5. Then play on the end of any arm. Go out and you score the pips the others hold. Game is 60. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Matador1. Each player draws seven tiles. 2. Tiles do not match here: the two halves that touch must add up to seven. A 6 goes against a 1, a 5 against a 2, a 4 against a 3. 3. The four matadors are the 0-0, 6-1, 5-2 and 4-3. A matador may be played on any end, either way around. 4. Nothing adds up to seven with a blank, so only a matador can be played on a blank end. 5. The hand ends when someone goes out or nobody can play. The fewest pips left scores the others' pips, less their own. Game is 100. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Partnership Dominoes1. Four players sit as two pairs, partners facing. Deal out all 28 tiles, seven each. 2. In the first deal the holder of the 6-6 leads it. Later the lead passes to the right and may be any tile. 3. Add one tile a turn to either end of the line. You must play if you can. If you cannot, knock on the table to pass. 4. The deal ends when a player goes out, which wins it for that pair, or when all four pass in a row. Then the pair with fewer pips left wins. 5. The winners score the pips the losers still hold. The first pair to 100 wins. Set: double six. Players: 4.
Sebastopol1. Four players draw seven tiles each, the whole set. 2. The holder of the 6-6 lays it in the middle. 3. The next four tiles played must be sixes, one on each side of the 6-6. A player with no six passes. 4. After that, add a tile to the end of any of the four arms. Other doubles lie crosswise and do not branch. 5. Go out and you score the pips the others hold. In a blocked hand the fewest pips wins and scores the others' pips, less their own. Game is 60. Set: double six. Players: 4.
Tiddly-Wink1. Share out as many tiles as go around evenly: five players take five each from a double six set, and three tiles stay out of play. 2. The holder of the largest double starts by playing it. 3. In turn, add a tile to either end of the line, or pass if you cannot. 4. Whenever you play a double, you may play a second tile at once. 5. The first player out of tiles wins. If nobody can play, the fewest pips left wins. Set: double six for up to six players, double nine or double twelve for more. Players: 3 to 8.
Train Dominoes1. Up to four players draw 15 tiles each, five or six draw 12, seven or eight draw 10. The 12-12 goes in the middle. 2. On your first turn, lay a row of matching tiles from the middle toward yourself, as many as you can. That row is your train. 3. After that, play one tile a turn on your own train, or on one extra train that is open to everyone. 4. If you cannot play, draw one tile. If it does not fit either, put a marker on your train: the others may play on it until you next add to it. 5. After a double, play a second tile. A round ends when someone goes out, and pips left count against you. Play 13 rounds, from the 12-12 down to the 0-0. The lowest total wins. Set: double twelve. Players: 2 to 8.
Scoring games, points as you play 6
All Fives1. Two players draw nine tiles each, three draw seven, four draw five. The rest is the boneyard. 2. Add one tile a turn, matching numbers. The first double played is a spinner: the layout may branch from all four of its sides. 3. After each tile, add up the open ends. If the total is a multiple of five, score that many points. A double at an end counts both halves. 4. If you cannot play, take tiles from the boneyard until one fits. 5. The winner of a hand also scores the pips the others hold, to the nearest five. Game is 250 for two players, 200 for three or four. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
All Threes1. Deal and play as in Muggins: one line, two ends, seven tiles each for two players and five each for three or four. 2. After your tile, add up the two ends. Score 1 point for every three in the total: 1 for 3, 2 for 6, up to 6 for 18. 3. A double at an end counts both halves, so a 6-6 at one end and a 6 at the other make 18. 4. If you cannot play, take tiles from the boneyard until one fits. 5. The player who goes out scores 1 more point. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Bergen1. Two or three players draw six tiles each; four draw five. 2. The holder of the lowest double leads it. Add one tile a turn to either end of a single line. 3. Score 2 points when your tile makes both ends of the line show the same number. Score 3 when one of those ends is a double. 4. If you cannot play, take tiles from the boneyard until one fits. Its last two tiles are never taken. 5. Going out scores 2 points. Game is 15 for two players, 10 for three or four. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Five Up1. Each player draws five tiles. The rest is the boneyard. 2. Every double is a spinner: lay it crosswise, and the layout may branch from all four of its sides, the two long sides first. 3. After each tile, add up all the open ends. If the total is a multiple of five, score 1 point for every five in it. 4. If you cannot play, take tiles from the boneyard until one fits. 5. When a hand ends, round the pips left in your hand to the nearest five, divide by five and take that off your score. Game is 61. Four play best as two pairs. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Fives and Threes1. Two players draw seven tiles each; three or four draw five. The rest stay out of play, and nobody takes from them. Four play as two pairs. 2. Add one tile a turn to either end of the line. If you cannot play, knock. 3. After each tile, add up the two ends. Score 1 point for every five and 1 for every three in the total. 4. So 10 scores 2, 12 scores 4, and 15 scores 8: three fives and five threes. A double at an end counts both halves. 5. Playing your last tile scores 1 point. The first to exactly 61 wins; a score that would pass 61 does not count. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Muggins1. Two players draw seven tiles each; three or four draw five. 2. Play to either end of one line. No double is a spinner, so there are only ever two ends. 3. If the two ends add up to 5, 10, 15 or 20 after your tile, score that many points. A double at an end counts both halves. 4. Announce your score as you play. In the old rule, if you forget, an opponent may call muggins and the points are lost. 5. If you cannot play, take tiles from the boneyard until one fits. When a hand ends, take the pips left in your hand, to the nearest five, off your score. Game is 250 for two players, 200 for three or four. Set: double six. Players: 2 to 4.
Trick-taking and memory games 3
Concentration With Dominoes1. Lay all 28 tiles face down in a grid, four rows of seven. 2. On your turn, turn up any two tiles. 3. If their pips add up to 12, keep both tiles and go again. 4. If not, turn them face down again where they lie, and the next player goes. 5. The hand is over when the grid is empty. Play hands until someone has taken 50 tiles. Set: double six. Players: 2 or more.
Forty-Two1. Four players sit as two pairs, partners facing, and draw seven tiles each. 2. Each player bids once, from 30 up, for how many of the hand's 42 points their pair will take. 3. The high bidder names a number as trumps and leads. Each player plays one tile to the trick, following the suit led if they can. 4. The highest trump wins a trick, or else the highest tile of the suit led. A double is the top tile of its suit. 5. Each of the seven tricks is worth 1 point. The 5-5 and 6-4 are worth 10 each, and the 5-0, 4-1 and 3-2 are worth 5 each. A pair that makes its bid scores a mark; if not, the other pair does. Seven marks win. Set: double six. Players: 4.
Moon1. Take out every tile with a blank except the 0-0, which leaves 22. Each of three players draws seven, and one tile stays face down. 2. Each player bids once: 4, 5, 6 or 7 tricks, or 21 to shoot the moon, which means taking all seven. 3. The high bidder takes the spare tile, discards one face down, names trumps and leads. 4. Play seven tricks: follow the suit led if you can. The highest trump wins, or else the highest tile of the suit led. 5. A bidder who makes the bid scores it, and loses that many points if not. The other two score 1 point a trick. The first to 21 wins. Set: double six. Players: 3.
Domino games to play alone 12
Baronet1. Lay every tile face down in one long line. 2. Count up from 0 as you go along the line, turning over one tile for each number you say. 3. If a tile's pips add up to the number you are saying, set it aside. If not, turn it back face down. 4. At the end of the line, go back to its start and count on from one more than the pips on the last tile you turned. 5. Set every tile aside to win. The count runs as high as the pips on the set's highest double: 12 for a double six set. Set: double six, double nine or double twelve. Players: 1.
Big Clock1. Set the 0-0 aside. Mix the rest and lay twelve tiles face up in a ring, like the hours of a clock. Put the 0-0 in the middle, pointing at twelve. 2. Draw one tile at a time and lay it on top of a clock tile that shares a number with it. A tile that fits nowhere is out of the game. 3. The aim is a double on top at every hour: the 1-1 at one o'clock, around to the 12-12 at twelve. 4. When a double has no place, or sits at the wrong hour, you may move top tiles onto other top tiles that share a number. Fill an emptied hour with a new tile. 5. You lose if a drawn double still cannot be placed. Set: double twelve. Players: 1.
Buccaneer1. Deal seven stacks of four tiles, face down, and turn the top tile of each face up. 2. Move a top tile onto another top tile that shares a number with it. 3. Turn up any tile this uncovers. No stack may hold more than five tiles. 4. An empty place takes only a double. 5. You win with seven stacks of four, all face up: a double at the bottom of each and three tiles of its number on top. Set: double six. Players: 1.
Domino Patience1. Lay out seven columns, face down: one tile in the first, two in the second, up to seven in the last. Turn the bottom tile of each column face up. 2. Move a face-up tile onto the end of another column where the touching halves match. 3. Turn up the tile it uncovers. 4. An empty column takes any face-up tile, with the run of tiles joined to it. 5. Never turn a tile around. You win when every tile is face up and in sequence. Set: double six. Players: 1.
Fair Lucy1. Deal seven stacks of three tiles, face down, in a row. Put one of the last seven tiles face up on each stack. 2. Take away any two top tiles whose pips add up to 12. 3. Turn up the tile under each one you took. 4. A stack that runs out stays empty. 5. Clear every tile to win. Set: double six. Players: 1.
Good Neighbors1. Turn twelve tiles face up in two rows of six. The rest is the boneyard. 2. Two tiles that sit side by side, one above the other or corner to corner are good neighbors if they share a number. Take away at least one such pair. 3. Slide the tiles left to close the gaps, and move tiles up from the row below to fill the top row. 4. Refill the empty places from the boneyard, left to right, and look again. 5. Clear every tile to win. With a double nine set, use three rows of three and aim to leave one tile. Set: double six or double nine. Players: 1.
Luzon1. Lay out five columns of five tiles and turn them all face up. Set the last three tiles face up at the side. 2. Take away two tiles with pips that total 12. Each must be the bottom tile of a column, and the two must come from different columns. 3. A side tile may pair with a bottom tile at any time. 4. An emptied column may be filled with the bottom tile of another. 5. Clear every tile to win. Set: double six. Players: 1.
Polka Dot1. Mix the tiles face down and turn six face up in a row. 2. Take away any two tiles in the row whose pips add up to 12. 3. Fill the two gaps with tiles from the boneyard. 4. Go on until every tile is paired off, which wins, or no two tiles in the row make 12. 5. It is easier with seven tiles in the row and harder with four or five. With a double nine set pair to 18, and with a double twelve to 24. The game is also called Twelves. Set: double six, double nine or double twelve. Players: 1.
Squeeze1. Turn seven tiles face up in a row. 2. Take away two tiles that share a number if one or two other tiles sit between them. 3. Or take away three tiles side by side that all share a number. 4. Close the gaps and look again. When nothing more can go, add seven more tiles to the right end of the row. 5. Clear every tile to win. One or two left over is a very good result. Set: double six, double nine or double twelve. Players: 1.
Stack1. Turn four tiles face up, side by side. The rest is the boneyard. 2. Draw one tile at a time. 3. Add it to the top or the bottom of one of the four columns, where its number matches the open half. 4. The game ends the moment a drawn tile fits nowhere. 5. Place all 28 tiles to win. Set: double six. Players: 1.
The Sultan1. Lay all 28 tiles face down in one row, then turn each one over where it lies. 2. Look for two neighbors whose touching halves show the same number. 3. Take both away and close the gap. 4. Closing a gap makes new neighbors, so look again. 5. Clear the whole row to win. Set: double six. Players: 1.
Sympathy1. Turn four tiles face up in a row. 2. Take away any tile whose pips add up to exactly one less than those of another tile in the row. 3. When no more can go, deal four more tiles: onto the tiles still there, or into the gaps. 4. Repeat until the boneyard is used up. 5. You win when only the 6-6 is left. Set: double six. Players: 1.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-09, in our own words, for a box of ordinary dominoes; no boxed game is listed and nothing is played for money. The games for two or more players were checked on 2026-10-09 against the rules site Pagat (https://www.pagat.com/domino/), in its pages for Block Dominoes, Draw Dominoes, Partnership Dominoes, Blind Hughie, Tiddly-Wink, Sebastopol, Maltese Cross, Matador, Cyprus, Cuban Dominoes, Chicken Foot, the train game played with a double twelve set, All Fives, Muggins (which also gives All Threes), Fives and Threes, Five Up, Bergen, Texas 42, Moon and Concentration, and against English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, in its list of domino games (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_domino_games) and its article on Chicken Foot. The muggins call is as Wikipedia gives it. The values of the five counting tiles in Forty-Two follow from Pagat's rule that a tile with ten pips is worth 10 and a tile with five pips is worth 5. The games for one player were checked the same day against the solitaire pages of the rules site Domino Play (domino-play.com): Polka Dot, Fair Lucy, Luzon, Baronet, Sympathy, The Sultan, Squeeze, Stack, Good Neighbours, Big Clock, Patience and Buccaneer. No second source was found for them, and each is written as that site gives it; Good Neighbors is given for the double six and double nine sets only. Where a source gives a game with stakes (Tiddly-Wink in its American form, Forty-Two and Moon played for money) the stakes are left out; Tiddly-Wink is the British game. Traditional games vary from table to table, and each entry gives one way to play. Head counts follow the sources; where a source gives none (Tiddly-Wink, Chicken Foot, Concentration) they are our estimates. Boxed sets are sold for Chicken Foot and for train games; this page has no tie to their makers. Licence: own work
How it works
These are games to play with dominos from an ordinary box: block and draw games, scoring games, trick-taking games and solitaire. Each is in numbered steps and ends with the set it needs and how many can play.
Read the full guide
Domino games for one person to play
Domino games to play alone are solitaire layouts. Polka Dot, Fair Lucy and Luzon pair off tiles whose pips add up to 12. The Sultan and Squeeze clear a row, and Domino Patience is laid out like the card game. Big Clock is the one written here for a double twelve set.
Different games to play with double six dominoes
Most of the list needs only a double six set. Cyprus and Cuban Dominoes want a double nine, Chicken Foot a double nine or larger, and Train Dominoes a double twelve. Under More filters, Set keeps only the games your box can play.
Mix the tiles face down before every hand, and stand your own on edge so nobody else sees them.
A cribbage board keeps score for block and scoring games, which is why so many are played to 61.
Questions and answers
What games can you play with dominoes?
Block and Draw are the two basic games. All Fives, Muggins and Bergen score points during play, Matador joins halves that add up to seven, and Forty-Two is played in tricks like a card game. Solitaire games use the same tiles.
Are there domino games to play by yourself?
Yes. Stack builds four columns from tiles drawn one at a time, Baronet is counted along a face-down line and is pure luck, and Buccaneer sorts seven stacks by their doubles. Each needs one double six set and nobody else.
What is the easiest domino game to learn?
Block Dominoes: draw tiles, match ends in turn, and pass when you cannot play. Pagat, the rules site this list was checked against, calls it the simplest and probably the most common domino game.
How many dominoes are in a set?
A double six set has 28 tiles, a double nine set 55 and a double twelve set 91. Each holds every pair of numbers once, from blank up to its highest double.