How to play dominoes: Master the black and white tokens with this easy guide to 'Draw'
Did you know the world’s longest domino wall was over 169 feet? A group of nine set the Guinness World Record in April 2022 after a six-day feat without a single accidental topple.
Dominoes may be the subject of oh-so-satisfying topple videos, but there are many different games you can play with a set. The black and white tokens originated in China as early as the 10th century, according to Britannica. Chinese dominoes were often used to represent possible throw outcomes with two dice.
Here’s how to play one popular variation: “Draw.”
How to play dominoes
This game is played with a basic set of 28 pieces, which go up to double sixes. In “Draw,” the goal is to get rid of your dominoes before your opponent to score the most points. Decide on a score goal before playing – most variations play until 100, 150 or 200 points.
Setup
To start, place all the tiles facedown on the table, “shuffling” them by mixing them around randomly.
In a two-player game, each player draws seven tiles, turning them over to look at them without revealing them to the other player. If there are three to four players, draw five each.
Put the rest of the unused dominoes to the side – this is called the "boneyard."
Play
The starting player places a double domino in the center. This is called the “spinner.”
Continue making matches and extending outward from the spinner and the last played domino.
Build straight lines extending from the spinner and other double dominoes, only curving into an L shape when you’ve run out of table space.
The first player to play all of their dominoes wins the hand. After each hand, tally the points.
Scoring
When the round ends, total up the number of pips in the other players' hands and add it to the winning player's tally. The player who wins the hand is the only one who scores points that round.
If no player can go and the boneyard is empty, the player with the lowest total pips wins the points, subtracting their remaining from the total.
Stop when a player reaches 100 points, or whatever the designated end total is.
Keep the fun going with more illustrated game guides
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