How to Play Dominoes

Dominoes is a time-honored game, with origins in different countries from all around the world, although the earliest version was likely played in China almost 1,000 years ago. Different domino tiles, numbers, and shapes have held a place in the game throughout its history. But despite its near-ancient origins, many versions of dominoes still persist to this day. Now, fans can even pick up their smartphones to play a game of classic dominoes digitally.   The modern incarnation of dominoes features white, rectangular tiles that are divided horizontally across the middle into two halves. Each half displays a number of dots (called “pips”) between one and six, or is blank to represent zero. A full set of dominoes is called a “deck.”

Getting Started & Game Rules A variety of games have been created with dominoes. Arguably, the most common version is “straight dominoes,” also known as or “basic dominoes”dominoes. In this version of the game, players take turns placing dominoes end-to-end to create a “line.” The number of players recommended is 2-4, and Eeach player starts with a specified number of dominoes in their hand (usually seven), and while the remaining dominoes are stacked face down and set aside. The object of the game is to score points by laying the dominoes end to end.   Dominoes are added to the line from a player’s hand, starting with the player that has the highest “double domino” (a domino with matching pips on both sides). From there, players take turns adding dominoes to the line in a clockwise order. A domino can only be played if the number of pips on one of its sides matches the number of pips on an open end of the line.   For example, if the line has an open end with six pips, you can add a domino from your hand that has six pips on one side.