How to Play Dominos

Domino Instructions

There are many different types of games to play with dominoes. We have adapted the most common domino game, The Draw Domino Game, to work with our printed dominoes. You can find a printable version of our instructions here.

Shuffling The Dominoes

Before a game or hand begins, the dominoes must be shuffled.  You can turn them all face-down on the table, then move them around in a random motion, being careful not to flip over any of the pieces. The collection of shuffled tiles is called the boneyard.

The Draw Domino Game

Each player draws four dominoes without letting the other players see their dominoes. Have the youngest player go first and lay any domino on the table. The next player tries to match the numbers or pictures on one end of a domino from his/her hand with the numbers or pictures on an open end of any domino on the table (see our example below). If a player cannot make a match, he/she must draw from the boneyard until a domino that can be played is drawn. If there are no dominoes left in the boneyard, the player passes his/her turn. The first player to get rid of all his dominoes wins the hand. If none of the players can make a match, the hand or game ends in a block. In the case of a block, the players turn the dominos in their hands face up for counting. The player with the lowest total wins the hand or game.