How to play Dominoes

Dominoes is a free, browser-based version of the classic tile game you can play against a genuinely clever computer opponent — no account, no download, and it keeps working offline.

What is this?

This is one-on-one Dominoes played on a standard double-six set: 28 tiles, one for every pairing of two numbers from blank (0) up to six. You play against the computer on a single table that works on a phone in portrait or on a desktop. It is completely free, needs no sign-up, and runs entirely in your browser, so once the page has loaded you can keep playing with no connection.

How to play

Each player is dealt seven tiles; the remaining fourteen form the face-down boneyard. Whoever holds the heaviest double plays first (if nobody was dealt a double, the heaviest tile opens the line). From then on you take turns.

1. Read the open ends. The line of play has two ends, each showing a number. You may add a tile that carries a matching number on either end.
2. Tap a tile in your hand. Playable tiles are highlighted. If a tile fits only one end it snaps into place instantly; if it fits both ends, tap the glowing left or right end to choose where it goes.
3. Get stuck? In Block rules you simply pass your turn. In Draw and All Fives rules you take tiles from the boneyard until you can play (or it runs out, and then you pass).
4. Win the hand by playing your last tile — that is a “domino” — or, if the game locks up with nobody able to move, the player holding the fewest pips wins. You score the total pips left in your opponent’s hand.
5. Win the match by being first to reach 100 points across as many hands as it takes.

All Fives — scoring as you play

Pick All Fives on the menu and the game changes character completely. Instead of only scoring at the end of a hand, you score during it: after every tile you lay, add up the two open ends of the line. If that total is a multiple of five, you bank it immediately — a 15 is fifteen points, right now.

Two details decide most counts. A double lying at an end counts both of its halves, so a 6-6 sitting on the end is worth twelve, not six; once another tile is laid on top of it, it is buried and counts nothing. And the opening tile has both of its own faces exposed, so whoever opens with 6-4 or 5-5 starts the hand ten points up. The counter under the line of play shows the current total and turns brass the moment it is worth points.

The end of the hand is scored too, but rounded: go out and you take the tiles left in your opponent’s hand rounded to the nearest five (13 pips pays 15, 12 pays 10). If the hand locks up instead, the player with the lighter hand scores the difference between the two hands, rounded the same way — so a close lock can genuinely be worth nothing. First to 100 still wins the match, and because counts land mid-hand you can cross the line while losing the hand you are playing.

Tips to beat the AI

• Dump doubles early. Doubles only ever match one number, so they are the hardest tiles to get rid of late in a hand. Play them while you still can.
• Shed heavy tiles first. If you get blocked, you lose the pips still in your hand — a 6-6 stuck at the end is twelve points handed to the opponent.
• Count what has been played. There are seven tiles of every number. Once you have seen most of the fours, the ends showing four are unlikely to be answered.
• Watch the passes. When the AI passes, it cannot match either open end — the Hard AI remembers exactly this about you, so try to leave ends it cannot play.
• Keep your options open. Prefer moves that leave you tiles matching both ends, rather than painting yourself into a corner with a single suit.
• Control the ends. When both ends show the same number you dictate the pace; forcing the board to a number you hold lots of is a quiet way to strangle the AI.
• In All Fives, count before you dump. The heavy tile is not always the right one — and watch what your move leaves behind, because an end you set up on a total of five or ten is a gift the Hard AI will take on its next turn.

FAQ

Is it really free? Yes. The game is free to play and supported by unobtrusive ads; there is nothing to buy.

Do I need an account? No. There is no sign-up, no login and no email required — just open the page and start a game.

What is the difference between Block and Draw? In Block you pass when you cannot move; in Draw you take from the boneyard until you can play or it empties. Draw games run longer and turn on your luck of the draw.

What is All Fives? A third set of rules where you score during the hand: every time the two open ends of the line add up to a multiple of five, the player who just laid a tile banks that total. It plays with the boneyard like Draw, and hand awards are rounded to the nearest five.

How hard is the Hard AI? It is a real heuristic, not random: it dumps doubles, sheds heavy tiles, protects its own options and remembers which numbers you could not play. In All Fives it also counts, and will take a five over a heavier tile. Easy simply offloads its heaviest tile each turn.

Does it work on mobile? Yes — it is built portrait-first for one-thumb play, and works just as well on a desktop.

Is my game saved? Only your best win streak is stored, on your own device. Nothing about your games is sent anywhere.