Dominoes

How to play

• Before starting you choose how many tiles are dealt (5 or 7 each) and how many points the game is played to (50, 100 or 150).
• All 28 tiles are always in play: whatever is not dealt stays in the boneyard. Only dealing 7 tiles to 4 players uses up all 28 and leaves the table with no boneyard.
• Whoever holds the highest double opens (the 6-6, failing that the 5-5, 4-4...). If nobody has a double, whoever holds the tile with the most points adding up its two numbers opens; if tied, the one closest to the dealer in playing order.
• Taking turns, each player places a tile at one of the two ends, matching the number. Doubles are placed crosswise.
• If you cannot place: with a boneyard, you draw until you find a valid tile; without one, you pass the turn.
• Domino! The round ends as soon as someone runs out of tiles: they take the sum of the points left in their opponents' hands (in teams, those of the rival pair).
• If the table is blocked -nobody can place and there is no boneyard left- the round stops: the winner is whoever has fewest points in hand (in teams, the pair with fewest points between them) and takes the points of EVERY tile still in hand, their own included.
• If both sides tie on points in a blocked table, the round is a draw and nobody scores.
• The game is played to the points you chose: 50, 100 or 150.

By number of players

• 2 players: one against one. With 5 tiles there are 18 left in the boneyard and with 7 there are 14, so there is nearly always something to draw.
• 3 players: everyone for themselves, no pairs. With 5 tiles there are 13 left in the boneyard and with 7 there are 7.
• 4 players: always in pairs, and your partner sits opposite you. With 7 tiles all 28 are dealt and there is NO boneyard: if you cannot play, you pass instead of drawing.

Modes and prizes

• Against the computer: you play bots, offline and as often as you like. It pays no coins and no experience, so it is there to practise and try out settings without risking anything.
• Against friends: you open a room and invite them by username. Here only the winner is paid, and at half rate, because you pick who you sit with.
• Online: we sit you with people from all over the world. Every place is paid, most to least, and it is the only mode that counts towards the weekly League. If the room is slow to fill, simulated players complete it; in that case the League counts half.
• Buy-in tables: online you can sit at a 100, 250, 500 or 1000 coin table. Every player puts in that amount on sitting down and the whole pot goes to the winners, with no commission. These tables only fill with real people: if they do not fill in time the table is cancelled and your buy-in is returned. Neither the gold booster nor the VIP pass multiplies the pot.