How to Play Dominoes
Last updated: October 13, 2026
Play Dominoes · Four to a table · Build a vibe
Interactive tutorial
NEWPlay 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
Start the tutorialEvery mode uses the same rules. What changes is who you play with, whether the result counts toward your rank, and a few table options.
Game modes
Casual tables
Open a table from the lobby or take a free seat at someone else's. Make it public for anyone to join, or private and share its 8-character join code with friends. The table's owner can fill up to two empty seats with bots and set the table options below. Casual points count toward the leaderboard as each round ends.
Ranked
Join the ranked queue and you're matched with three other players. Ranked games are always four real people, never bots, and always use Ducks. Points only count once the game reaches a real finish. To keep the leaderboard fair, a new account's ranked results start counting a few days after its email is verified.
Solo
Play against three bots, each set to Easy, Medium or Hard. It's the place to practise: nothing is at stake, so Solo games appear in your history but never on the leaderboard.
Partner
Two teams of two, partners sitting across from each other. Coming soon.
Table options
The owner of a casual table picks these when creating it, and can change them until the game starts.
- Game end: Ducks (the default) ends the game as soon as every player has won at least one round; the most round wins takes it. First to 6 plays on until someone reaches six round wins.
- Draws: Allow Draw (the default) lets every player tied for the lowest count on a blocked board share the round win. With Double or Nothing, a tied round has no winner and the next round's winner earns two round wins instead of one.
- Visibility: a public table is listed in the lobby; a private one can only be joined with its code.
Leaderboard Score
Points from each round:
| Points | How you earn (or lose) them |
|---|---|
| +2 | for winning a round. |
| +2 | for winning a round with a "key" — your last tile matches both open ends at once. |
| +1 | if you won by blocking the board yourself. |
| -1 | for losing a round that ended by blocking the board yourself. |
Points for each completed game:
| Points | How you earn (or lose) them |
|---|---|
| +6 | for winning the game — half that (+3) when the win is shared. |
| +3 | for dropping SIX on an opponent — a player who finishes with zero round wins. |
| +3 | for 2nd place — second highest round-win total. |
| +2 | for 3rd place — third-highest round-win total. |
| -2 | for finishing the game having never won a single round. |
Leaving & Disconnection Penalties
| Points | How you earn (or lose) them |
|---|---|
| -2 | for abandoning a game — leaving/disconnecting and not returning within a grace period. |
Ranked VS Unranked
- Unranked points land as each round finishes, even if you don't finish the game.
- Ranked points are only awarded once the match reaches a real conclusion.