5XJ Dominoes Rules
Start Here — How Every Game Works
You play against the computer. Each player starts with seven dominoes.
- Look at the two open ends of the domino line on the table.
- Play one of your glowing dominoes. A glowing domino matches at least one open end.
- If your domino matches both ends, choose Play Left or Play Right.
- After you play, the computer takes its turn.
- The round ends when one player uses every domino, or when neither player can make another move.
Simple matching example: If an open end is 4, you may play any domino with a 4 on it, such as 4-1, 4-5, or 4-4.
What the Buttons Mean
- Draw Tile: Take one domino from the unused pile. This button is used in Draw Dominoes and All Fives.
- Pass: End your turn without playing. You may pass only when you have no legal move.
- Next Round: Start the next round after the current round is finished.
- New Game: Erase the current scores and start over in the selected game.
How to Win the Complete Game
Rounds continue until you or the computer reaches 100 points. The first player to reach 100 points wins the complete game.
Draw Dominoes
Main idea: Match a domino to either open end. When you cannot play, draw another domino.
Your Turn
- Play a glowing domino when one is available.
- If none of your dominoes can be played, click Draw Tile.
- If the domino you draw can be played, play it.
- If it still cannot be played, click Draw Tile again.
- Keep drawing until you can play or until the boneyard is empty.
- If the boneyard is empty and you still cannot play, click Pass.
What is the boneyard? The boneyard is the pile of unused dominoes. Its remaining number is shown on the left side of the game.
How a Draw Round Ends
- If you use all your dominoes first, you win the round.
- If the computer uses all its dominoes first, the computer wins the round.
- If both players are unable to play and the boneyard is empty, the round is blocked.
Draw Dominoes Scoring
- The player who uses all dominoes scores the total dots left in the other player's hand.
- In a blocked round, the player with fewer dots scores the difference between the two hands.
Scoring example: You have 8 dots left and the computer has 20. You have fewer dots, so you win the blocked round and score 12 points: 20 minus 8.
Block Dominoes
Main idea: Block Dominoes is like Draw Dominoes, except nobody is allowed to draw.
Your Turn
- Play a glowing domino when one is available.
- If none of your dominoes match either open end, click Pass.
- The computer will also pass automatically when it cannot play.
How a Block Round Ends
- The round ends immediately when a player uses every domino.
- The round also ends after you and the computer pass one after the other.
Block Dominoes Scoring
- If a player uses every domino, that player scores all dots left in the opponent's hand.
- If the round is blocked, the player with fewer dots wins.
- The winner scores the difference between the two hands.
- If both hands have the same number of dots, the round is a tie and nobody scores.
Remember: In Block Dominoes, the Draw Tile button is not used. You either play or pass.
All Fives
Main idea: Play just like Draw Dominoes, but try to make the open ends add up to 5, 10, 15, or another multiple of five.
Your Turn
- Look at the two open ends.
- Choose a glowing domino that makes the open-end total equal 5, 10, 15, or 20 whenever possible.
- If you cannot play, use Draw Tile just as you do in Draw Dominoes.
- If the boneyard is empty and you still cannot play, click Pass.
How You Score During the Round
After every domino is played, the game adds the values showing on the two open ends.
- Open ends totaling 5 score 5 points.
- Open ends totaling 10 score 10 points.
- Open ends totaling 15 score 15 points.
- Open ends totaling 20 score 20 points.
- If the total is not a multiple of five, no points are scored for that play.
Easy example: The left open end is 2 and the right open end is 3. The total is 5, so the player who made that play scores 5 points.
How Doubles Are Counted
When a double is sitting on an open end, count both sides of that double.
Double example: A double-3 is open on the left and a 4 is open on the right. Count 3 + 3 + 4 = 10. The player scores 10 points.
Points at the End of an All Fives Round
- The player who wins the round also receives points for the dots left in the other player's hand.
- Those leftover dots are rounded to the nearest five.
- Example: 12 leftover dots become 10 points. Thirteen leftover dots become 15 points.
Quick Reminder
- Draw Dominoes: Cannot play? Draw until you can play or the boneyard is empty.
- Block Dominoes: Cannot play? Pass. There is no drawing.
- All Fives: Play like Draw Dominoes and try to make the open ends total a multiple of five.