Dominoes glossary: the terms explained
Dominoes has a vocabulary that goes back two centuries, and half of it has more than one meaning. This is the working set.
Guides · Updated
Dominoes is a game with its own vocabulary, and much of it is older than you might think: several of these words were in print by the 19th century. A lot of them also mean two things, depending on which game you are playing. This dominoes glossary gives the 50 terms you are most likely to hear, in plain English, with links to the guides where each one matters.
A
- Ace
- An ace is a tile end with a single pip.
- All Fives
- All Fives is a scoring game in which you score whenever the open ends of the layout add up to a multiple of five. It is also called Muggins. Types of domino games.
B
- Blank
- A blank is a tile end with no pips, counted as zero. Older books also call it a pale, a white or a zero.
- Block
- To block is to leave an end showing a number your opponent cannot play. The word is also short for Block dominoes, and an old name for a tile.
- Block dominoes
- Block dominoes is the basic game, in which you may not draw: if no tile in your hand fits an open end, you pass. Block dominoes rules.
- Blocked game
- A blocked game is a round in which nobody can play, so it ends before anyone has gone out. In most games the player holding the fewest pips wins it. How blocked rounds are scored.
- Bones
- Bones is a nickname for dominoes, from the bone and ivory that sets were once commonly made from.
- Boneyard
- The boneyard is the pile of face-down tiles left over after the deal. In Draw dominoes you take from it when you cannot play; in Block dominoes it is never used. It is also called the stock, the reserve or the pile.
- Buy
- To buy is to draw a tile from the boneyard.
C
- Chicken foot
- In the game Chicken Foot, the chicken foot is the three tiles played off the far side of a double. It must be completed before play can continue anywhere else. Types of domino games.
- Count
- The count is the total of the pips on all the open ends at a given moment, which is what scoring games like All Fives score. It can also mean a player’s running score.
D
- Deuce
- A deuce is a tile end with two pips.
- Domino
- A domino is a single tile. As a verb, to domino is to play your last tile and win the round, which is why players call out “domino!” when they go out.
- Double
- A double is a tile with the same number on both ends, such as the double-six. Doubles are traditionally laid crosswise, and they are the hardest tiles to get rid of because each one fits only a single number. What doubles cost you, in numbers.
- Double-six set
- A double-six set is the standard set of 28 dominoes, covering every pairing of the numbers blank to six. A double-nine set has 55 tiles and a double-twelve set has 91. How many dominoes are in a set.
- Draw
- To draw is to take a tile from the boneyard. The word is also short for Draw dominoes.
- Draw dominoes
- Draw dominoes is the version of the game in which a player who cannot play must take tiles from the boneyard until they can, and may pass only once it is empty. Draw dominoes rules.
E
- End
- An end is one half of a tile, carrying one number. The open ends of the layout are the places a new tile can be played.
- Engine
- In Mexican Train, the engine is the double placed in the centre at the start of a round. Every train in that round grows out of it. It is also called the station. Mexican Train rules.
F
- Fives and Threes
- Fives and Threes is a scoring game popular in British pubs, in which you score one point for each five and each three in the count. A count of 15 scores eight. Types of domino games.
G
- Go out
- To go out is to play your last tile, which ends the round. It is also called going domino or chipping out.
H
- Hand
- A hand is the set of tiles a player is holding. The word is also used for a single round of play.
- Heavy
- Heavy describes a tile or a hand carrying a lot of pips. Heavy tiles are expensive to be caught holding when a round ends. Dominoes strategy.
K
- Knock
- To knock is to signal that you cannot play, traditionally by rapping a tile or your knuckles on the table so nobody has to ask. It means the same as pass.
L
- Layout
- The layout is every tile lying face up on the table. It is also called the tableau.
- Lead
- The lead is the first tile played in a round, and to lead is to play it. In most games the player with the highest double leads.
- Leader
- The leader is the player who plays the first tile of the round. In two-player games the leader has a measurable advantage. How much leading is worth.
- Light
- Light describes a tile or a hand carrying few pips. A light hand is an asset in any game that can end blocked.
- Line of play
- The line of play is the chain of tiles on the table, with an open end at each side for the next tile.
M
- Marker
- In Mexican Train, a marker is the token placed on your train when you cannot play. While it is there, any player may add to your train. Mexican Train rules.
- Matador
- Matador is a game in which the touching ends of two tiles must add up to seven instead of matching. The matadors are the four tiles that can be played anywhere: the double-blank, the 6–1, the 5–2 and the 4–3. Types of domino games.
- Mexican Train
- Mexican Train is a game for up to eight players using a double-twelve set. The name is also given to the shared train within the game, which any player may add to. Mexican Train rules.
- Muggins
- Muggins is another name for All Fives. It comes from the rule that if you forget to claim your score, an opponent can call “Muggins!” and take it. The word is old slang for a fool.
O
- Open end
- An open end is an end of the layout with nothing attached to it, and so a place where the next tile can go.
P
- Pass
- To pass is to give up your turn because you cannot play. In Draw dominoes a pass is only allowed once the boneyard is empty.
- Pips
- Pips are the dots on a tile. A tile’s value is the total of its pips, so the double-six is worth twelve. They are also called spots or dots. Dominoes scoring.
- Pose
- To pose is to play the first tile of a round. It is also called the set.
R
- Round
- A round is one deal played out, from the first tile until someone goes out or the board blocks.
S
- Satisfy
- In Mexican Train, to satisfy a double is to play a tile on it. Until a double is satisfied, no player may play anywhere else. Mexican Train rules.
- Set
- A set is a complete collection of dominoes, such as a double-six set. The word also means the first tile played in a round.
- Shuffle
- To shuffle is to mix the tiles face down on the table before the deal. It is often called washing the tiles.
- Single
- A single is a tile with two different numbers, such as the 6–4, as opposed to a double.
- Sleeper
- In Block dominoes, a sleeper is a tile that was not dealt and so will never be played. In a two-player game, half the set sleeps.
- Spinner
- A spinner is a double that can be played off on all four sides instead of two, giving the layout more open ends. Spinners are common in All Fives and Chicken Foot.
- Spots
- Spots is another word for pips.
- Stock
- The stock is another name for the boneyard.
- Suit
- A suit is every tile carrying a given number, so the six suit is all the tiles with a six on them. In a double-six set each suit has seven tiles, which is what makes counting them possible. Why every suit has seven tiles.
T
- Tile
- A tile is a single domino. Players also call tiles bones, stones, pieces or men.
- Train
- A train is a line of tiles laid end to end. In Mexican Train each player builds their own.
- Trey
- A trey is a tile end with three pips.