Last Updated on January 25, 2024 by Gamesver Team and JC Franco
Dominoes is a classic all-time favorite game. Everyone is familiar with the most common game where you match the ends of the dominoes until you have no more tiles left to play or when the game is blocked. However, there are many more fun and popular dominoes games that you can play.
Dominoes may be considered to have Chinese heritage. However, a domino-like game was discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt, which could date the genesis of dominoes to its earliest period. Nowadays, there are many fun and popular dominoes games you can play.
If you are looking for fun and popular domino games to play with your friends and family, you’ve come to the right place. Let the games begin!
These are 22 fun & popular dominoes games to play:
1. Chickenfoot
Block domino game Chickenfoot, also known as Chickie Dominoes and Chicken-Foot Dominoes, can have anywhere from two to twelve players.
With 4–7 players, Chickenfoot is at its most enjoyable throughout the game’s several rounds, with one round dedicated to each pair of double dominoes in the set. The victor is the player that has the fewest points, and the game’s object is to play all of your dominoes.
2. Domino Castle
People who enjoy dominoes will appreciate the new spin on the classic game. The challenge of creating a one-of-a-kind Domino Castle is worth it for the reward of seeing your hard work pay off. The benefits of constructing domino towers with more than one box might be enormous.
3. Concentration
The card game Concentration (or memory) is a close analog to this one. A Double-Six Dominoes set is required for this activity. The tiles are laid down in random order, face down, and in rows.
Each player has a turn, selecting two dominoes; if the total value of their pips does not equal 12, the tiles are turned over, and the play passes to the next player.
Each player receives another shot if they locate a pair of tiles with 12 pips. The winner is the person who has made the most matches by the time play has ended.
4. Muggins (All Fives)
Even though Muggins is a popular and fun game, it is a bit different due to its peculiar scoring system. If you don’t score on your turn, your opponent can steal it by shouting, “Muggins.”
5. Double Twelve
In Double Twelve, place all the dominoes face down and shuffle them. Select seven tiles randomly and arrange them in a row, facing up. Get out a dozen dominoes and put them up in pairs. When you remove a pair from the Draw Pile, put another pair to keep the pile at seven. Keep going until you run out of dominoes or get trapped.
6. Draw
Like the game Block, Draw allows you to keep drawing tiles from the “boneyard” if you cannot play with the ones in your hand. If not, the game would go similarly to Block, with the champion being the first one to get rid of all their dominoes.
7. Block
When nobody can take a turn, Block is over. Each participant uses a domino from their hand to match an existing tile. The game is ended if no player can match the tile. If the game can go until one person runs out of tiles, that player yells “Domino!” and wins the round.
8. Stack ’em Up
The rules of Stack’ Em Up are simple, and the gameplay is a lot of fun. Create a base of three or four dominoes to start.
Each player takes a turn placing a domino on the board in an attempt to build a tower that will stand until the end of their turn but is hazardous enough to topple during the following player’s turn. The game is over when you make the tower fall during your turn.
9. Cross
The game of Cross is comparable to Draw, but it begins differently. A “spinner” is produced when a double is played. Before playing any more dominoes, players must play their tiles on both sides and ends to create a 5-Domino cross.
10. Maltese Cross
Maltese Cross is a 2-4 hour-player variation on the game Sebastopol. Double sixes are used, just like in Sebastopol. Take 5 tiles randomly for each participant (7 tiles; there are only two players). Any player unable to play must, as in Cyprus, draw a tile and play it if they can.
After the center spinner and four neighboring tiles have already been played, the next four must be doubles, which are rotated crosswise to resemble a Maltese cross; however, they do not operate as spinners.
11. Bingo
Bingo (unlike the lottery version) is a fun and popular domino game. This game lasts between five and ten minutes and requires only two players. It uses the double-6 set. The winner is the first participant to score seven sets.
12. Pai Gow
The Chinese domino tile-based gambling game Pai Gow has gained widespread popularity in casinos worldwide. You may also play Pai Gow on your own with a set of specially made tiles. The game of Pai Gow has a complex set of rules, but once you get the hang of using the tiles, you will form hands and place bets!
13. Bendomino
Thierry Denoual is credited for creating this exclusive form of the common draw game, Bendomino. It is played using a double-six domino set, which is typical, but every tile has been bent in half so that three of them may be put together to form a circle. This enables the course of play to be blocked at either end or to connect at both ends.
14. Fortress
In Fortress, dominoes are set in motion by the player with the highest double. The direction of play is always clockwise. Dominoes are placed by each player, if possible, at one of the open ends of the board. You can spin it and play it off on any of the four corners if you have a double.
If a player has no viable options, they must pass. The game is over whenever a player uses his final domino or when no further moves are possible. Blocking occurs when all the players still have tiles but cannot play them.
15. Matador
When played with a double-six set of dominoes, the game Matador may accommodate anywhere from two to four players.
You want to be the first to eliminate your dominoes while preventing your opponents from doing the same. This is a game of dominoes from the blocking family. Differentiating it from other tile-based games is the peculiar rule of combining pips rather than matching numerals.
16. Texas 42
Texas 42 is an interesting trick-taking game played with a conventional double six domino set. The number 42 is commonly called “Texas’s official state game.”
Two teams of two compete against each other while seated opposite to one another. The winning group is the one that accumulates seven “marks,” or 250 points, first. Several hands make up the game (a maximum of thirteen hands if you’re playing for marks).
17. Sebastopol
To best understand Sebastopol, think of it as a four-player version of the classic block game. Play begins with a double in the center, which can go four ways. If you play four more tiles, they must all revolve around this central spinner.
18. Cyprus
Cyprus is a version of Sebastopol played using a double-nine set and anywhere from four to ten players. This game is most closely related to the Draw card game. In most forms, participants are responsible for drawing all of the tiles.
If you start with a double, you should play the following eight tiles such that they connect to the double, creating a star (with eight open sides). Play continues in the same manner as Draw, except that a player who cannot play does not have to draw again.
19. Tiddley-Wink
Tiddley-Wink, also known as Tiddle-a-Wink, is an old English game. It is the same as the Block Game, with the added rule that if a player plays a double, they get one additional play in the game.
20. Bergen
Bergen is a version of the game Draw where scoring occurs predominantly during play. There aren’t any spinners; therefore, the play path does not diverge.
When a player plays a tile that causes the same value to appear at both ends of the lines of play, they receive 2 points, 3 points if there is a double at one end.
Two more points are awarded to the player who finishes their hand and terminates the game or to the person whose victory in a blocked game is determined (using varied and sometimes complex methods).
21. Blind Hughie
The first player of Blind Hughie flips over and sets their first domino in the middle. If they can, they play their second tile. Until they can play, they keep turning them over. They flip over and move to the end of the row any tile they can’t play. They should leave double tiles face-up.
The next player turns their tiles over in order, plays as long as possible, and then places an unusable tile last. The game finishes whenever a player has played all their tiles or if the game is blocked. The winner has the least dots left over at the end.
22. Mexican Train
Last but not least is Mexican Train. This game is related to the game Chickenfoot. The objective is for players to place all their tiles onto the trains (whether it is their own, others, or the main one).
In Closing
Apart from all the great games on our list, there are many more to try. Gather all your friends for some good dominoes fun (the more, the merrier), and why not make it more interesting by placing a few bets? All these games’ rules are easy to follow, and all you need is to strategize!
This article was co-authored by our team of in-house and freelance writers, and reviewed by our editors, who enjoy sharing their knowledge about their favorite games with others!
JC Franco
JC Franco serves as a New York-based editor for Gamesver. His interest for board games centers around chess, a pursuit he began in elementary school at the age of 9. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Mercyhurst University, JC brings a blend of business acumen and creative insight to his role. Beyond his editorial endeavors, he is a certified USPTA professional, imparting his knowledge in tennis to enthusiasts across the New York City Metropolitan area.