How to Play Dominoes

Last updated: October 13, 2026

Play Dominoes · Four to a table · Build a vibe

Interactive tutorial

NEW

Play through a game with bots, from joining a table to your first win. The game pauses at every step to show you what's happening: passes, blocked boards, winning a round.

18 steps · about 3 min · nothing counts

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OneLoveDomino plays classic four-player dominoes with a double-six set: 28 dominoes, every combination of 0 to 6 pips. These are the rules every table follows. Table options like Ducks and Double or Nothing are on the Game Modes tab.

Setup

Every table seats four (4) players.
Twenty-Eight (28) dominoes are shuffled and dealt out evenly. Seven (7) dominoes per hand.
Whoever holds the double-six, opens the first round automatically.

Take a turn

On your turn, play any domino from your hand whose value matches one of the two open ends of the chain on the game table.
If no dominoes match in your hand, you're passed automatically.
Turns go around the table in a fixed order. There's no boneyard to draw from: all 28 dominoes are dealt, so a player who can't match simply passes.

Blocking the board

When no player can match either open end, everyone is passed in turn and the board is blocked. The round stops there and every player counts the pips (the dots) left in their hand.

The lowest count wins the round. A hand of and counts 6, which beats a single at 8.
The classic block: both open ends show the same number, and all seven dominoes carrying that number are already on the board. Nobody can ever match it again.
Blocking on purpose is a real tactic. If you play the tile that blocks the board and win the count, you earn a bonus. If you block it and lose the count, it costs you (see Game Modes & Scoring).

End a Round

Empty your hand — the first player to play all their dominoes wins the round.
Block the board — whoever is holding the lowest total count on their dominoes in hand wins the round.

NB: A blocked round can tie if two or more hands share the lowest count. By default every tied player shares the round win — a table can instead be set to Double or Nothing, where a tie has no winner and the next round's winner earns two round wins.

Win a game

Each round's winner earns one (1) round win.
Every round is a fresh shuffle and deal. The winner of the last round leads the next one, and can open with any domino.
The first player to win 6 rounds, wins the game.
Ducks: once every player has won at least one round, the game ends there. Whoever has the most round wins takes it.

NB: Ducks is on by default. When creating a table, you can turn it off in favor of First to 6, where play continues until someone wins 6 rounds. If two or more players share the most round wins, they share the game win.

Glossary

Pip: One of the dots on a domino. A domino's value is the sum of its pips.
Double: A domino with the same number on both ends, like . It's placed crosswise on the board.
Open ends: The two exposed numbers at either end of the chain. Every play must match one of them.
Pose: The first domino of a round. Round 1 always opens with the double-six.
Pass / knock: Skipping your turn because nothing in your hand matches. Players knock the table to show it.
Blocked board: Nobody can play. The lowest pip count in hand wins the round.
Key: Going out with a last domino that matches both open ends at once. Worth a bonus.
Six love: Finishing a game with zero round wins. Giving one to an opponent is called "dropping SIX".
Ducks: The house rule that ends the game once every player has won at least one round.