Dominoes rewards patience and memory more than luck. You cannot choose your tiles, but every turn you choose which tile to play, which end to play it on, and which numbers to leave open for the next player. This tutorial walks through a first game and then the habits that win more hands. If you need the rules first, the Dominoes rules guide covers dealing, leading, drawing and scoring.
What you will learn
- What happens in a typical first hand, turn by turn.
- How counting pips decides which tile to play first.
- How to take control of a number so the line keeps coming back to you.
- Why doubles should usually go early.
- How to read the other hands from their draws and passes.
- A short practice plan against the computer.
Your first game, step by step
Open the Dominoes game and press Start game. One tap sets up a game against a Medium computer, Draw game, first to 100 points.
- The lead is placed for you. The player with the highest double sets it down automatically. Suppose the computer leads the double six: both open ends are now 6.
- Find your playable tiles. Your tiles sit under the table, and the ones that match an open end are raised. Say you hold 6-4, 4-1, 2-2, 0-3, 5-1, 6-2 and 1-1. Only 6-4 and 6-2 can go on a 6.
- Choose with a plan. 6-4 is heavier, and after it the open ends would be 6 and 4. You hold 4-1 to follow the 4 and 6-2 to follow the 6, so you will have a play next turn whatever happens. Tap 6-4. Because both ends show a 6, it goes down at once.
- Watch the reply. The computer plays, and its tile is ringed so you can see what changed. If it draws, the badge and the boneyard count tell you how many tiles it took.
- Pick an end when it matters. Later you may hold a tile that fits both ends, such as 4-1 when the ends are 4 and 1. Tapping it shows two outlined spots on the line; tap the end that leaves the number you want open.
- When nothing fits, the game draws for you until a tile fits, or passes for you once the boneyard is empty.
- At the end of the hand every hand is shown face up with its pip count. Check the score, then tap Next hand.
Play a full match like this and you will already feel the main tension of the game: you want to play heavy tiles early, but you also need to keep tiles that follow the numbers left on the table.
Strategy tips that win hands
1. Count your pips and shed the heavy ones
When someone else goes out, every pip in your hand becomes their score. A hand of 6-5, 5-5 and 6-4 hands over 31 points; a hand of 1-0, 2-1 and 0-0 gives away 4. So in the early turns, when two tiles are equally useful, play the heavier one.
This matters even more in the Block game, where hands often end blocked and the lowest count wins. Light tiles are your insurance for the end of the hand.
2. Control a number
Each number appears on exactly 7 tiles. If you hold three or four tiles of one number, say three fives, try to keep a 5 open on the line. Every time a 5 is open you can play, and the other players are less likely to be able to follow it.
Counting helps here. If four fives are already on the table and you hold the other three, nobody else can ever play on a 5. Leave a 5 open and you decide when that end moves.
3. Play doubles early
A double has the same number on both halves, so it fits only one number. Early in the hand that number is usually still open somewhere; late in the hand all seven tiles of it may be gone and your double is stuck in your hand for the rest of the game. The double six stuck in your hand at the end is 12 points for someone else.
A good rule: when you have a choice and one option is a double, play the double unless the other tile clearly does more for you.
4. Keep a spread of numbers
The tiles you keep matter as much as the one you play. A hand like 4-1, 4-2, 4-0 is fine while a 4 is open but helpless once the fours run out. A hand like 4-1, 3-2, 6-0 can follow many more ends. When two plays score about the same, keep the hand with more different numbers in it.
Also look one turn ahead: after your play, will you still have a tile for at least one of the two ends? If not, you may be drawing next turn.
5. Read the draws and passes
You cannot see anyone’s tiles, but the table tells you a lot:
- A player who passes has no tile for either open end. In the Block game, or once the boneyard is empty, that stays true for the rest of the hand.
- A player who draws had no tile for either end before drawing. After they play the tile they drew, they usually still have none of those numbers.
Use this. If Leo just passed on 3s and 5s, leaving a 3 or a 5 open makes him pass again. The Hard computer player does exactly this kind of reasoning, so it pays to learn it.
6. Block when you are light, open up when you are heavy
Look at the hand sizes on the badges and think about how the hand might end. If your hand is light and an opponent is close to going out, closing the ends, even blocking the game, can be the right move: the lowest count wins a blocked hand. If your hand is heavy, keep the game open and try to play out your big tiles before it ends.
7. Count the ends in the endgame
Near the end of a hand, count the tiles of the two open numbers still unaccounted for: seven of each, minus what is on the table, minus what is in your hand. If none are left, that end is dead and the next tile on the other end decides everything.
Common beginner mistakes
- Saving the double six for later. It only gets harder to place. Play it when you can.
- Playing on autopilot. The first tile that fits is often not the best one. Check both ends and what each choice leaves open.
- Opening a number you cannot follow. Leave an end you hold more tiles for.
- Ignoring passes. A pass is the clearest information in the game. Remember it.
- Hoarding light tiles early. Light tiles are for the end of the hand; play heavy ones first.
- Blocking with a heavy hand. A blocked hand pays the lowest count, so make sure that count is yours.
A practice plan
- Play three matches against Easy to 50 points. Focus on one habit: before each play, look at what both ends would become.
- Move to Medium. It plays heavy tiles and doubles early and keeps a spread of numbers, so you need to do the same to keep up. Count your hand at the end of each hand and compare with the winner’s.
- Try the Block game against Medium. With no drawing, the pip count matters from the first tile, and you will see blocked hands more often.
- Take on Hard in a game to 100. It never sees your tiles, but it pays close attention to every draw and pass, so start doing the same.
- Play with friends on one device. The pass screen keeps every hand private, and now reading the other players becomes a game in itself.
When you are ready, deal a hand in the free Dominoes game and try these ideas one at a time. For more games where planning ahead pays off, try Mancala or Backgammon.