Fives and Threes Dominoes

How to play Fives and Threes

Fives and Threes is a scoring dominoes variant played with a double-six set. Two players each draw 7 tiles; the rest form the boneyard and stay out of play.

Starting the round

The player with the highest double leads the first round and may open the layout with any tile. In subsequent rounds, the player sitting next to the previous leader takes the first turn, so in a two-player game the lead simply alternates.

No spinner

Unlike All Threes or All Fives, Fives and Threes has no spinner. Tiles are added only to the two open ends of the layout.

Scoring on each play

After every tile is placed, total the pips at the open ends. If that total is a multiple of five, the player scores total / 5. If it is a multiple of three, they also score total / 3. A total of 15 hits both, scoring 8 points (3 + 5). Doubles at the open end of an arm count for their full pip total.

Passing

If a player cannot play, they simply pass the turn. There is no drawing from the boneyard.

Ending the round

The round ends when a player empties their hand, or when the layout is blocked and no one can play.

End-of-round bonus

The player who plays out their last tile wins the round and scores +1 bonus point. If the round ends blocked, no bonus is awarded.

Winning the game

The first player to reach 100 points at the end of a round wins. If both players cross 100 in the same round, the higher score wins.