Domino Games

This page gives an alphabetical list of the domino games for which there are rules (or in some cases links to rules) on pagat.com. The entry for each game indicates the number of players, number and type of dominoes needed, and the type of game. Further explanation can be found below the table, and in more detail on other pages. As well as traditional games, the list includes many invented domino games, which may be known only to a few players, and have in many cases been contributed by the people or groups who invented them: these are listed in italics.

Types of domino set

Western dominoes. Dominoes of this type appeared in Europe in the 18th century and are now familiar in most parts of the world, most often in the form of a double-six set in which each end of each tile has from zero to six spots. The set contains 28 tiles, one from each pairing of the numbers 0 to 6. Larger sets are possible. The double-nine set of 55 tiles, containing all possible pairs of numbers from 0 to 9, has been around since the early 20th century at least. Recently larger sets have become popular for some North American games, notably Mexican Train which uses a double-twelve set of 91 tiles, and double-15 sets (136 tiles) and even double-18 sets (190 tiles) can also be found. In the index above these sets are shown by the tile with the largest number of spots, for example [9:9] represents a double-nine set, and [6:6]×2 represents two double-six sets.

Chinese dominoes. These are thought to have originated in the 12th century and are presumably the ancestors of Western dominoes, though the exact relationship is obscure. The ends of each tile show numbers of spots from 1 to 6, clearly corresponding to the possible results of throwing two 6-sided dice. There are thus 21 different tiles but the set contains two copies of the 11 tiles of the ‘sky’ suit so that there are 32 tiles in total. Tradionally the 1 and 4 spots are red, as are half the spots of the double 6. These sets are shown in the index as [C32].

Types of domino game

Connecting games. This is the most familiar type of domino game in most parts of the world. Players take turns to add tiles to a layout. The tiles are normally played end to end, with the number of pips on the touching ends matching. These layouts can take various shapes depending on the connection rules:

• arm – when the layout has just one open end to which tiles can be added, forming a line that grows in one direction only.
• line – when the layout can extend from both ends of the initial tile, forming a line which can grow at either end.
• cross – when the layout is begun with a double from which four arms can grow forming a cross shape.
• star – when arms of the layout can grow in many directions from the initial tile, sometimes forming one arm for each player.
• tree – when not only the initial double, but every double that is played allows the layout to branch.
• network – when the layout can not only branch but rejoin, forming a complex structure that may include closed loops.
• grid – when tiles are played in a regular two-dimensional grid.
• disconnected layout – when there are several separate lines, columns or groups to which tiles can be added.
• stacks – when the tiles are stacked on top of one another according to some rule.

In most connecting games players can add tiles to any open arm of the layout, but there is a family of games known as trains where each player plays on their own arm of the layout, known as a train, and can only play on another player’s train in special circumstances.

Although the most usual connection rule is that the touching ends of adjacent tiles must have the same number of pips, other connection rules are possible. One of these is matador connection in which the total number pips on touching ends is a fixed number – for example 7 in the case of a [6:6] set, so that if an arm ends with s 2, the next tile played on that arm must have a 5 touching the 2.

Most domino connection games are shedding games in which the objective is to be the first to play all your tiles, or failing that to minimise the unplayed tiles you arte holding when the play ends. However, there are some games in which the objective is to score by creating particular configurations of tiles in the layout. The simplest of these are games of the Bergen family where a player scores whenever the layout has two or more equal ends. Then there is the Fives and threes family in which players score by making the ends of the layout add up to a multiple of five or three. Some recently invented games reward the creation of more complex patterns, such as enclosed cells, or particular number relationships.

Card games with dominoes. Dominoes can be used in a similar way to playing-cards to play the same types of games. Some of these are adaptations of games that are also played with playing-cards: others were specifically designed to be played with dominoes. There are

• trick-taking games (point-trick, plain-trick and multi-trick) in which each player in turn plays a tile (or more than one) and the highest tile (or set) takes the trick,
• fishing games in which tiles are played from hand to capture tiles from the table,
• draw and discard games, in which a turn consists of drawing a new tile and discarding an unwanted tile, with the aim of collecting desrired tile combinations in hand,
• adding games in which the aim is to collect or play tiles whose pips add up to a certain total,
• partition games in which a player’s hand must be divided into two or more subsets which compete with the corresponding subsets of the other players’ hands,

and many other types, such as domino versions of Poker and Pelmanism (Memory).

Other domino games. Naturally, some newly invented domino games make use of novel mechanisms that do not fit naturally into the above categories. For example there are several dice matching domino games, which make use of the correpondence between domino tiles and the possible results of rolling two dice. There are is also a range of solitaire games and puzzles using dominoes: some puzzles are described on Joe Celko’s mathematics of dominoes page.

Acknowledgement

The establishment of the domino section of pagat.com was made possible by the Texan domino expert Joe Celko, who in 2001 generously donated the text of his unpublished book on domino games. Over the subsequent years, Joe’s original game descriptions have been progressively revised and expanded and many further games added as a result of comments and contributions from readers and the discovery of new sources of information. Joe also provided the following useful introductory chapters:

Other Sites for Domino Rules, Equipment and Software

The American Domino Company, formerly known as Puremco, was founded in Texas in 1954 by George Purvis. They supply a range of traditional and custom made dominoes and also publish rules and information on domino games at dominorules.com.

Z. Teun Spaan’s Domino Plaza also has a substantial collection of rules of games played with dominoes.

A collection of domino game rules in Polish is published on Kuba Libre’s Dominogranie.

The AlexCramer Company supplies high quality precision made domino sets and hand-crafted wooden boxes for dominoes.

On the website Online Domino Games several domino games can be played against computer opponents.