Draw Dominoes

Age: Older children and adults

No. of players: 2-4

Equipment: Set of 28 normal (double-six) dominoes

Time: 15 minutes+

Aim: To be the first player to get rid of all their tiles and reach 200 points.

Draw Dominoes is the basic game of dominoes and is suitable for children and adults. It is similar to Block Dominoes but it is slightly harder, making it more suitable for older children and adults.

1. Tiles are placed face down in the centre of the table and moved around to mix them up. Two players take seven tiles at random each while 3-4 players have five tiles each. The remaining tiles are moved to the side of the table (still face down) so they are out of the way of all players. These remaining tiles are called the Boneyard. Players look at their tiles but try to prevent other players from seeing their tiles.

2. If one player has the double six, they place it face up in the centre of the table to start the layout. Otherwise, the player with the highest double tile puts it in the middle. If no player has a double tile (which is unlikely) the tile with the most spots is used to start the layout.

3. The next player on the left puts a tile which matches (on one end) the centre tile and so on around the table. Tiles can be added to either end of the layout, but only one tile is added per turn. If a player is unable or unwilling to play a tile, they must pick up one or more tiles from the Boneyard, either until they are willing or able to add a tile to the layout, or until there are only two tiles left in the Boneyard. If a player looks at any tile in the Boneyard, they must add that tile to their hand; they cannot choose and discard tiles. When there are only two tiles left, they remain 'hidden' in the Boneyard and players must then miss a turn if they are unable to play a matching tile to either end of the layout.

4. Play continues until one player has placed all their tiles in the centre. That player then scores all the spots on the remaining players' tiles. If no player can put all their tiles in the layout, the game is a draw and each player scores ten points.

5. The overall winner of Draw Dominoes is the first player to reach 200 points or more.

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