Dominoes Strategy: 9 Tips to Win the Draw Game
The tiles you are dealt are luck. What you do with them is not. Over a game to 100, the player who makes slightly better choices each turn wins far more often than not. None of these tips needs a head for numbers; they are habits, and after a few games they become second nature.
1. Play Heavy Tiles Early
When two tiles fit and nothing else separates them, play the one with more dots. If your opponent goes out, every dot still in your hand becomes their points. A 6–5 caught in your hand is worth 11 to them; a 1–0 is worth one. Getting the heavy tiles down early takes the sting out of losing a hand.
2. Get Your Doubles Down
A double has only one number, so it fits only when that number is open. A 4–2 can go on a 4 or a 2; the 4–4 needs a 4. If you hold a double and its number is open, that is often the moment to play it, because the chance may not come again. The 6–6 and 5–5 are the worst tiles to be stuck with: heavy and hard to place.
3. Keep a Spread of Numbers
A hand like 2–5, 3–6, 0–4 and 1–1 can answer almost anything. A hand of 3–3, 3–5, 3–6 and 5–6 is in trouble as soon as the 3s and 5s are closed off. When choosing between plays, prefer the one that leaves you holding the widest variety of numbers. You'll draw less, and drawing is how hands are lost.
4. Think About the Ends You Leave
Every tile you play changes one open end. Before you play, look at what that new number means for you. Do you have another tile with that number to follow up next turn? If you play the 2–5 on a 2 and leave a 5 open while you hold the 5–1, you have a safe move ready. Leaving a number you hold more of puts you in control of that end.
5. Count the Sevens
Each number appears on exactly seven tiles. Glance at the table: if five of the 4s are already down and you hold one, there is only one 4 left anywhere. An open 4 is then very likely to stop your opponent. You don't have to track everything; start with the numbers at the two open ends and the ones you hold most of.
| Tiles with that number you can see | What it means for an open end |
|---|---|
| 7 of 7 (table plus your hand) | Nobody else can play there. Your opponent cannot match it. |
| 5 or 6 of 7 | One or two are left, and they may be in the boneyard. A good end to leave. |
| 4 or fewer | Your opponent probably has one. Don't count on blocking it. |
6. Watch When Your Opponent Draws or Passes
This is the biggest edge you can get, and it is all in plain sight. If the ends were 3 and 6 and your opponent had to draw, they had no 3 and no 6. Remember that. If you can keep a 3 or a 6 open, they may have to draw again, and every tile they draw is more points for you. Our Hard computer does exactly this, and it is why it is hard.
A caution: what you learn from a draw fades. The tiles they drew could carry any number, so the safest knowledge is from their most recent draw or pass.
7. Block Only When You Are Lighter
Late in a hand you can sometimes close both ends so that nobody can play. That ends the hand, and the lighter hand scores the difference. Before you close the game, count your dots. If you hold three light tiles and your opponent has been drawing all hand, blocking is a fine way to bank points. If you are holding the 6–6, keep the game open and work it down.
8. When Your Opponent Is Nearly Out, Dump Points
When the other player is down to one or two tiles, the hand may end any moment. Subtle plans stop mattering. Play your heaviest tile that fits, so that if they do go out, they score as little as possible.
9. Use the Boneyard Count
The boneyard count is shown above the table. A big boneyard means a blocked end will just make your opponent draw (still good for you: they collect tiles). An empty boneyard means a blocked end makes them pass, and you get two turns in a row. Near the end of a hand, those extra turns are often enough to go out first.
Practice With the Hint and Why? Buttons
In our free dominoes game, the Hint button suggests a move and says why, and every computer move has a Why? button. Play a few games on Normal, then try Hard and watch how it keeps the ends you can't match. When a hand goes badly, use Replay This Deal to play the same tiles again and try another plan.
The same habits pay off in other domino games. Heavy tiles first and watching who passes are just as useful in Mexican Train and Chicken Foot.