How to Play Double 12 Dominoes

How to Play Double 12 Dominoes-matching tile ends 1

Double 12 Dominoes

Double 12 dominoes allow you to play many variations of domino games including Mexican Train, Bergen, Tiddle-a-Wink, Matador, Four-Hand Texas, Muggins, Poker, Block, Sebastopol, and Bingo. In this guide, we will go over
rules for basic gameplay.

The Equipment

91 Double 12 Dominoes - A double 12 dominoes set consisting of all possible pairs of numbers from 0 to 12.

Gameplay for Basic Rules

The game of dominoes is played in a series of rounds. To win each round a player must use up all the tiles in their hand. The winner of the round scores points based on the remaining tiles. The rounds continue until the first person scores 100 or more points and wins the game. For shorter gameplay, 50 points can be used as the winning total.

Starting off the Rounds

All the tiles are placed face down on the table and shuffled. Each player draws seven dominoes from the pile to create their “hand”, making sure the domino values are concealed from their opponents. The remaining dominoes are used as the draw pile and is known as the “boneyard”.

The player with the highest “double domino” (tile with the same number on both ends) starts off the round by placing the tile in the middle of the table. If no player has a double domino, then all the tiles are returned face down to the center of the table and reshuffled. The process of drawing hands and starting off with a double domino is repeated.

Gameplay

Once the first tile has been played, the round continues clockwise to the player on the left. The next player has to match one of their pieces to one side of the starting double domino so that they are perpendicular.

Double 12 Dominoes - A double 12 domino is matched by a 12-7 domino

If no match can be made, the player must draw a tile from the boneyard until a match can be made. Subsequent players continue matching tiles off either an open perpendicular side of the starting domino or the open end of a domino line. If a player is unable to match a tile, they must draw from the boneyard until a match can be made. Only one tile may be played per turn.

Double 12 Dominoes - Matching tiles off an open perpendicular side of the starting domino (double 12).

Double 12 Dominoes - Matching tiles off an open end of a domino line (12-7 domino).

Double 12 Dominoes - Matching tiles off an open end of a domino line

If a double domino is played, it is placed perpendicular to the matching tile end.

Double 12 Dominoes - A double 4 is placed perpendicular to the matching tile end

Winning the Round

A round ends when one player has played his last tile and is declared the winner of the round.

A round also ends if none of the players have a playable tile and the boneyard is empty. In this case, each player adds up their hand total from the numbers on their tiles. The player who has the lowest total wins the round.

Scoring the Round

The winner's score at the end of the round is determined by adding up the hand totals from all opponents' and then subtracting the winner's hand total.

Example A

Double 12 Dominoes - Hand Totals of the players (Player 1 - 7 dots, Player 2 - 21 dots, Player 3 - 9 dots)

Round Winner = Player 1

Winning Score = 21 + 9 -7 = 23

Example B

Winning the Game

Double 12 Dominoes - Hand Totals of the players (Player 1 - 0 dot, Player 2 - 21 dots, Player 3 - 9 dots)