Use and Care Manual
You may already play some domino games. If so, you may find that the rules on this website are not the
exact rules as the ones you've learned. There are many domino games that go by different names and
yet have extremely similar, and sometimes even identical, rules. Also, there are many games that go by
the same name in various parts of the world, but the rules vary from place to place.
We have included on our website rules to many different domino games. Most of the domino game
rules included on our website also included several different rule variations. Whether you choose to
follow the rules precisely or create your own variation is irrelevant, as long as all the players clearly
understand what the rules are and agree to them before the game begins. It is also important, of course,
that you make sure the rules you choose to play with are functional.
The basic rules here apply to most domino games shown on our website, but not all of them. For
example, there are a few games on this website where hands are not drawn, and, of course, the basic
rules that pertain to more than one player would not apply to solitaire games.
In many domino games, a line of tiles is formed on the table as players make their plays, usually, but not
always, by matching the pips on the open end of the domino. This formation of tiles is called the line of
play. There are basic instructions listed here under Line of Play specifically for those games.
Shuffling the Tiles
Before every game, a player shuffles the tiles face down on a flat playing surface, thoroughly mixing
them by moving them with his hands. The player's hands may not stay on the same tiles while shuffling,
and the player who does the shuffling should be the last to draw his hand for the game.
Players may choose to take turns shuffling before each game or the same player may shuffle the
dominoes before each game.
Here are two of several options: 1) The player to the right of the player making the first play does the
shuffling for a game; or, 2) The winner of the previous game shuffles for the next game.
Seating Arrangement
A player's position at the table in a game with three or more players is called a seat.
One way to determine seating arrangements is by lot. After the tiles are shuffled, each player draws a
domino from the stock. The player who draws the tile with the greatest number of pips has first choice
of seats. The player holding the next highest seats himself to the left, and so on. If there is a tie, it is
broken by drawing new dominoes from the stock. The tiles are returned to the stock and reshuffled