Fundex Games Double Nine Dominoes User Manual

D O U B L E 6 • D O U B L E 9 • D O U B L E 1 2 • D O U B L E 1 5

I N S T R U C T I O N S F O R 1 2 G A M E S

Most games c an be played with any set of domines (Double 6, Double 9, Double 12 or Double 15).
A few games may instruc t you to play with only the 0-0 through the 6-6 (simply set aside your
higher dominoes if you have a s et larger than Double 6)

D o min o B a s ic s

The following terms and rules apply to all domino games in this instruction booklet,
unless otherwise noted. If the rules differ for a particular game, the instructions will
specify.

TERMS : Eac h domino (also called a tile or bone) is divided into two parts, c alled ends.
The dots on the tiles are c alled pips. If a domino end has no pips than it is considered
blank. If both ends of the tile have the same number of pips, it is called a double.

A domino is referred to by its number of pips; for example, a domino with three pips on
one end and five pips on the other is c alled a 3-5. A domino with a blank on one end and
six pips on the other end is called a 0-6. A domino with four dots on both ends is called
a “ double 4.” Each combination of pips occurs only once in a set—there are no
duplicate dominoes within a set.

SHUFFLING: Before every domino game, the tiles are placed face down on the
playing surface and shuffled to form a boneyard, from which players will draw. No
player’s hands may stay on the same tiles when shuffling. Players then take turns
drawing dominoes from the boneyard to form their hands– the dominoes they are
respons ible for playing throughout the game. The number of tiles drawn depends on the
game being played. Players usually stand their tiles upright in front of themselves so
that opponents cannot see the pips.

GENERAL DOMI NO PLAY: In most
games, the dominoes are placed
lengthwise, end to end, (except for
doubles) to form a line (see diagram A). The
line may have right angle turns in order to
keep within the playing area. In order to be
played, one end of the tile mus t match the
free or open end (the end of the domino
that does not touch another domino) of a
previously played domino. Because both
ends are the same, doubles usually are
played crosswise to the open end (See
diagram A). (Note: in most games this does not make two new open ends). A spinner is
a domino that can be played on both sides and both ends (see diagram B). In most
games that use a spinner, it is only the first double of the hand.

open end

A

open ends

B

double

spinner

open end

open ends

B l o c k & D r a w D o min o es

This is the game of traditional dominoes . Most domino games are simply variations of this game.

PLAYERS: 2-4
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes, paper to keep score
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to score 100 or more points

PLAY: Shuffle the dominoes; eac h player draws five tiles. The player with the highest double

begins the game, by plac ing their domino in the center of the playing area. Play continues
clockwise. If no double is drawn, all the tiles are returned to the boneyard, reshuffled, and
redrawn.

In order to play a tile, the next player must play a tile that matc hes one of the open ends of the
center tile. A player must play a domino if they are able to do so. If a player cannot match the
pips on an open tile, they must draw from the boneyard and add it to their hand until they have
drawn a tile to play. If the player draws all the tiles from the boneyard and still cannot play, they
may say “ pas s” and play passes to the next player. If the boneyard is empty and no plays can
be made, the round ends because it is blocked.

ENDING THE GAME: The first player to get rid of all of their dominoes calls “ Domino! ” and
wins the game. If playing in rounds, the winning player earns the pip total of their opponents’
remaining dominoes. If the round is blocked, then the player with the lowest pip total wins. The
player scores their opponent’s points minus their own. The first player to reach 100 wins the
game.

A l l F iv e s

In this variation of Block and Draw Dominoes, players only score if the ends add up to a
multiple of five after they place their domino.

PLAYERS: 2-4
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes, paper to keep score
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to score 100 or more points

PLAY: Shuffle the dominoes; eac h player draws the same number of tiles, (7 dominoes if 2

players, 5 if 3-4 players). The player with the highes t double begins the game. Play continues
clockwise. Dominoes are played to matching ends as in standard Block and Draw, but to score,
players must make the open ends add up to a multiple of five. For example, (in diagram A, on
page 1), the player that has just placed the 2-4 domino, sc ores 5 points because their open end
of “4 ”is added to the other open end “ 1” (6-1 tile) for a total sum of five. When a double is
played, the total of the double is added. For example if a 3-3 is played, and the other open end
of the domino line is a “ 4” the player would s core 3+3+4=10 points .

If a player does not notice their own play scores a multiple of five, an opponent may call
“muggins” after the next play. The player who calls “muggins ” receives the points instead.

When a player cannot make a match, the player draws from the boneyard until they draw a tile
to play, as in Block and Draw. Throughout the hand, players earn the point value for every
multiple of five they make.

ENDING THE GAME: The first player to get rid of all their tiles says, “ Domino!” and ends
the round. This player also receives any points left in the other player’s hands (each player’s
pips are added and the sum is rounded to the nearest multiple of five). If the round is bloc ked,
then the player with the lowest pip total wins. The player scores their opponent’s points minus
their own, and rounds the sum to the nearest multiple of five.

Most often, the player with the highest double (i.e. in a set of Double Six dominoes 6-6 is
the highest, in a set of Double Nine dominoes 9-9 is the highes t, and so on) in their hand
begins the game by plac ing the domino, pips up, in the c enter of the playing area. If no
player has a double, the highes t s ingle begins the game (i.e. in a set of Double Six
dominoes 5-6 would be the highest single) or players may elect to res huffle the tiles and
draw again in hopes of starting the hand with a double. Play is always clockwise, with
each player adding a tile to an open end(s ). If a player does not have a tile that is
playable to any of the open ends they say, “ pas s.” In some games the player will have
to draw a number of tiles and complete their turn before play continues . If no player can
play a domino (and/or the boneyard is empty) then the round is ended because it is
considered blocked.

SCORING: Sc oring varies acc ording to the game being played. See individual game
instruc tions for scoring. Most domino games are played in rounds; scores are
calculated at the end of each round. Multiple rounds may be played until the winning
score is achieved.

After each round, the players’ s cores from the previous rounds are added as well. The first
player to reach 100 or more points is the winner of the game.

M ATA D O R (a l s o c a l l ed A l l S e ve n s )

In this unique domino game, many traditional domino rules are broken. Players may draw from
the boneyard, even when they have a playable tile. Players may only match ends that add to a
sum of seven.

PLAYERS: 2-4
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes (use only 0-0 through 6-6), paper to keep score
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to score 100 or more points

PLAY: Shuffle the dominoes; eac h player draws the same number of tiles, (7 dominoes if 2

players, 5 if 3-4 players). The player with the highes t double begins the game. Play continues
clockwise. Dominoes are NOT played to identical ends , as in standard dominoes, but instead
ends are matched ONLY if they add up to a sum seven. For example, a 4-2 may be played on a
6-3 (the open 3 + 4=7). Also, doubles are not played crosswise in this game, they are played end

to end like the other dominoes. Points are not earned for the matched dominoes.

Matadors are tiles that add up to a sum of seven within themselves (3-4/5-2/6-1, the double
blank 0-0 also counts as a M atador). These dominoes are “ wild” and can be played on ANY
END, regardless of which ends are open (it does not have to sum to seven). A Matador tile is
the only tile that may be played on a blank end. The player may dec ide which end they want to
leave open when they place a Matador.

C R O S S D O M I N O E S

This game is played like standard B loc k and Draw Dominoes except that the first double played
is a s pinner.

PLAYERS: 2-4
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes, paper to keep score
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to score 100 or more points

When a player cannot play, the player draws from the boneyard until they draw a playable tile
or until the boneyard is empty.

ENDING THE GAME: The first player to get rid of all their tiles says, “ Domino!” and ends the
round. This player also receives any points left in the other player’s hands . If the round is
bloc ked, then the player with the lowest pip total wins. The player scores their opponent’s
points minus their own.

After each round, the players’ s cores from the previous rounds are added as well. The first
player to reach 100 or more points is the winner of the game.

B E R G E N

In this variation of Block and Draw Dominoes players sc ore points only when the open ends (of
the domino line) are the same.

PLAYERS: 2-4
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes, paper to keep score
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to score 15 or more points

PLAY: Shuffle the dominoes; eac h player draws six tiles. The player with the LOWEST

double starts and also scores 2 points (see Scoring section below), since both open ends are
the same. Play continues clockwise, with each player matc hing one of the two open ends as
in standard dominoes .

Unlike most domino games, when a player does not have a playable tile, the player only draws
ONE tile from the boneyard. If the tile is playable, it should be plac ed. If it is not, the player says
“pass ” and play continues to the next player.

SCORING: If both open ends are the same (two 6s, two 3s, etc) after a player has placed their
tile, the player s cores 2 points . If a player plac es a double that matc hes the other open end, the
player scores 3 points for the three matches.

ENDING THE GAME: The first player to get rid of all their tiles says, “ Domino!” and earns 1
point for ending the round. If the round is bloc ked, the player without any doubles in their hand
wins the point. If multiple players have no doubles, the player with the lowes t pip total (of their
remaining tiles) wins the point. I f multiple players have doubles , the player with the lowes t
double wins the point. If no player has reached 15 or more points then another round is played,
and so on. The first player to score 15 or more points is the winner.

B L I N D D O M I N O E S

This is the simplest of all the domino games, in which players do not look at their dominoes.

PLAYERS: 2-5
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to get rid of all your dominoes

PLAY: Shuffle the tiles; each player draws a domino until all the dominoes are dealt and each

player has an equal number of tiles. Any remaining dominoes may be set aside.

PLAY: Shuffle the dominoes; eac h player draws the same number of tiles, (7 dominoes if 2
players, 5 if 3-4 players). The player with the highes t double begins the game. Play continues
clockwise. The first double played is a spinner, which means it must have tiles matched to both
ends and both sides (forming a 5-tile “c ros s”) before any other tile may be played. I f a player
does not have a tile to match to the central tile, they must draw one from the boneyard. If the
tile is playable, they must play it, otherwise the player may say “pass” and the responsibility of
completing the cross passes to the next player. No other tiles may be played until all four cross
tiles have been played. I t may take several turns of drawing and passing until the c ros s is
completed.

Onc e the central domino has been played on all four sides, then play continues as in standard
Block and Draw Dominoes. (S ee instructions for Block and Draw Dominoes)

F I V E U P

In this game, players only score if the ends add up to a multiple of five. Also, in this game, every
double played is a pos sible s pinner.

PLAYERS: 2-4
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes, paper to keep score
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to score 61 points

PLAY: Shuffle the dominoes; eac h player draws one domino to determine the first player (the

highest pip total draw). Reshuffle all the tiles and each player draws their hand (7 dominoes if 2
players, 5 if 3-4 players). The first player may place any tile from their hand in the center of the
playing area. Throughout the game after a double is played and another tile has been played on
it, then the double becomes a spinner. The two crosswise ends of the double are now open
ends and may be played on. This means, when all sides of the double have been played on,
players will be adding the value of four open ends to get their score. The rest of the game is
played as standard Block and Draw dominoes.

SCORING: Players earn points ONLY when they make a play that results in the two, three, or
four open ends of the line adding up to a multiple of 5. Although this play is similar, the scoring
differs from All Fives.

The player receives one point for every multiple of five: for example, a sum of 5 pips = 1 point, a
sum of 10 pips = 2 points, a sum of 15 pips = 3 points , and so on. I f the sum of the open ends
does not add up to a multiple of five then no points are given.

ENDING THE GAME: The first player to get rid of all their tiles says, “ Domino!” and ends the
round. This player also receives any points left in their opponents’ hands (each player s ums the
total of their remaining pips and rounds them to the nearest multiple of five and the winner
receives one point for each multiple of 5; 1 or 2 pips = 0 points, 3 to 7 pips = 1 point,
8 to 12 = 2 points, and so on). If the round is blocked, then the player with the lowest pip total
wins. The player s cores their opponents ’ points minus their own, and rounds the sum to the
nearest multiple of five and is awarded the appropriate point value.

The first player to score EXACTLY 61 POINTS wins the game and the game is ended
immediately. During the round, if a play is made that would cause a player’s total points to
exceed 61, then no points are scored for the particular play and the game continues to the left.

Players do not look at their hands. They must place their dominoes face down in a horizontal
row, with the long sides facing one another. The youngest player starts by flipping over their
first tile (the domino at the top of the row) and plac ing it in the center of the playing area. The
next player takes their turn, flipping over the first domino from their row fac e up. If that domino
matches one of the ends of the central domino it may be played and the player gets another
turn. The player flips up the next domino in the row. If the domino can be played, the player
continues . If the domino cannot be played, then the player moves it to the bottom of their row,
face down. The player’s turn is now over and play continues to the next player in the same
manner.

ENDING THE GAME: The first player to get rid of all of their dominoes calls “ Domino! ” and
wins the game.

F O U R S

This game is similar to standard Block and Draw Dominoes except that it must be played with 4
players (no teams); players may play multiple dominoes in their turn.

PLAYERS: 4
EQUIPME NT: 1 set of dominoes, paper to keep score
OBJ ECT: Be the first player to score 100 points

PLAY: Shuffle the dominoes; eac h player draws one domino to determine the first player (the

highest pip total draw). Reshuffle all the tiles and each player draws their hand of 5 tiles. The
first player may place any tile from their hand in the center of the playing area. If the player has
another domino that is playable, he may plac e it as well. Play continues c lockwise, with each
player placing as many dominoes as possible on their turn.

Scoring and ending the game are played like standard Block and Draw dominoes.