How many tiles are in a double-six set?

Twenty-eight. Every pairing of the numbers 0 to 6 appears once, including the doubles, where both halves match.

What happens when nobody can play?

In a blocked game, the game ends and the player with the lowest total of pips wins. Some families play on by drawing from the boneyard.

A double tile that can be played on all four sides, so the line branches out and keeps growing.

In most games, the player holding the double-six. If nobody has it, the highest double goes first.

How is the score counted?

In most games, the winner scores the pips left in the other players' hands. Check your table's version, since the counting varies.

Only when you have no playable tile and no draw is allowed. In draw games you draw until you can play.

Dominoes for beginners: the double-six set, matching ends, and how to play a draw game

Dominoes is a matching game. Each tile is split in two, and each half shows zero to six pips. You play tiles end to end, matching the numbers, until one player has no tiles left. Dominoes is easy to learn, hard to master, and very good for children learning to count.

The set

The standard set is the double-six set, with 28 tiles. Every pair of numbers from 0 to 6 appears once. The doubles, such as 6-6 and 3-3, have the same number on both halves. Tiles are usually shuffled face down, and each player draws a hand.

The layout

The first player places any tile on the table. The next player must place a tile whose end matches one end of the chain. A 4-2 can be placed against a 4 or a 2. Doubles are placed across the chain, not along it, which is how most families show that a double has been played.

A chain of tiles. Each new tile must match the end it touches.

Playing a turn

On your turn, play a tile that matches one of the two open ends of the chain. If you have no matching tile, draw from the boneyard, the face-down pile of unused tiles, until you can play or the boneyard is empty.

A player who empties their hand goes out, and wins the round. Many families score the round by counting the pips left in everyone else's hands.

When nobody can play

Sometimes both ends of the chain have numbers that no player holds. The game is blocked. The player with the lowest total of pips in their hand wins the round, and the points are usually shared out among the players.

Scoring a simple game

Play to an agreed total, such as 100 or 150. After each round, the winner scores the pips remaining in the other hands. Keep the score on paper and check it at the end of each round, so nobody argues about it later.

Teaching children

Children learn matching quickly if they can see both halves. Start with a small set, such as a double-three set, which has 10 tiles. Ask the child to say the number at each end before they place a tile. That habit builds counting and the idea that a chain has two ends.