How to Play Texas 42
Texas 42 (most folks just say "42") is a trick-taking game played with dominoes instead of cards. It grew up in Texas in the late 1800s, and it is still the official state domino game, played at church halls, family reunions and kitchen tables all over the state. If you have ever played Spades, Bridge or Pitch, the ideas will feel familiar: four players in two partnerships bid, name a trump suit and try to win tricks.
These are the rules of "straight 42", the standard game, as our free online Texas 42 game plays them. Where tables commonly do things differently, we say so, and the rule variations page covers those house rules in more detail.
What you need
- Four players in two teams. Partners sit across from each other. Online, you sit at the bottom with your partner North across the table; West and East are the other team.
- A double-six set: the 28 dominoes from blank-blank to six-six. Each player gets seven, and every domino is used in every hand.
- A pencil and paper for the marks, or let the computer keep score.
The shake and the draw
One player, called the shaker, turns all 28 dominoes face down and shuffles them around the table. Then each player draws seven, starting with the player on the shaker's left and going around to the left. The shaker draws last. After each hand the shake moves one seat to the left, so everyone takes a turn.
Stand your seven dominoes up in front of you so nobody else can see their faces. Most players arrange them by suit, and our game does the same for you.
The count: why the game is called 42
Every hand has exactly 42 points in it. There are seven tricks, each worth 1 point, and five special dominoes called the count (or "count dominoes") that are worth extra to whoever wins them:
| Domino | Worth | How to remember it |
|---|---|---|
| 6-4 | 10 points | The pips add up to 10 |
| 5-5 | 10 points | The pips add up to 10 |
| 5-0 | 5 points | The pips add up to 5 |
| 4-1 | 5 points | The pips add up to 5 |
| 3-2 | 5 points | The pips add up to 5 |
| 7 tricks | 1 point each | 7 more points |
| Total | 42 points | 35 in count plus 7 for the tricks |
On our table the count dominoes wear a small brass badge with a 10 or a 5, and the bar above the table keeps a running tally: "Us 18 · Them 9 · 15 still out".
Bidding
Before any domino is played, each player gets exactly one chance to bid, starting at the shaker's left and ending with the shaker. A bid is a promise: "my partner and I will take at least this many of the 42 points." You may also pass.
- The lowest bid is 30. Bids go 30, 31, 32 … up to 41.
- Each bid must be higher than the one before it.
- A bid of 42 is called 1 mark: your side promises to take every trick.
- The next step up is 2 marks (84). You may open at 2 marks, but after that each new bid can only go up one mark at a time: 3 marks, then 4.
- The highest bidder wins the bid. They name trump and lead the first domino.
If everyone passes, the usual house rule is that the shaker must bid 30 (a "forced bid"). Some tables instead toss the dominoes back in and let the next player shake. You can choose either in our game's Settings.
Example. West shakes. North speaks first and bids 30. East passes. You hold four fives including the 5-5, so you bid 32. West, the shaker, passes. You have won the bid at 32: you name trump, lead first, and you and North must take at least 32 points between you.
Naming trump
The player who won the bid names the trump suit. There are nine choices in straight 42:
- A number: blanks, ones, twos, threes, fours, fives or sixes. Every domino with that number on either end becomes a trump. There are always seven trumps.
- Doubles: the seven doubles become the trump suit, with the 6-6 highest and the 0-0 lowest.
- No trump, also called "follow me": nothing is trump, and only the suit that was led can win a trick.
Which suit does a domino belong to?
This is the part that trips up every new player, so take it slowly. Each domino has two numbers, so it could seem to belong to two suits. Here is how it is settled once trump is named:
- A trump is only a trump. If fives are trump, the 5-3 is a five and nothing else. It cannot be used to follow threes.
- Any other domino is led as its higher end. If you lead the 6-4 (with fives trump), you have led a six, and everyone must follow with a six.
- But it can follow either end. If someone else leads a four, your 6-4 counts as a four and must be played if you have no other four.
- A double is the top of its suit. The 6-6 beats every other six. Below the double, a suit ranks by the other end: in sixes, 6-6, then 6-5, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, 6-0.
- Trumps rank the same way. With fives trump: 5-5 (highest), then 5-6, 5-4, 5-3, 5-2, 5-1, 5-0.
Example. Fives are trump. East leads the 4-2: it is a four. You hold the 6-4, the 5-4 and the 3-1. The 5-4 is a trump, not a four, so it does not count. The 6-4 is a four, so you must play it (and give away 10 points if you lose the trick). If you had no four at all, you could play anything, including the 5-4 to trump the trick.
Our game sorts your dominoes into labeled groups as soon as trump is named ("Trumps: fives", "Sixes", "Fours"…) and, when you tap one, tells you exactly what it counts as: "The 6-4 leads as a six. When fours are led it can follow them too."
Playing the hand
- The player who won the bid leads any domino to start the first trick.
- Play goes to the left. Each player must follow suit if they can: play a domino of the suit that was led.
- If you can't follow, you may play any domino, including a trump.
- The trick goes to the highest trump played. If no trump was played, it goes to the highest domino of the suit led. A domino of another suit can never win.
- The winner of each trick leads the next one. After seven tricks the hand is over.
Example trick. Threes are trump. North leads the 6-6. East follows with the 6-1, you have no six and play the 4-1 (count, worth 5), and West plays the 6-4. North's double six wins, and your side scores 1 point for the trick, 5 for your 4-1 and 10 for West's 6-4: 16 points in one trick.
Scoring
When the seven tricks are done, each side adds up its points. Remember the two sides' points always add up to 42.
| What happened | Who scores | How much |
|---|---|---|
| Bidders took at least their bid (30–41) | Bidders | 1 mark |
| Bidders bid 1 mark and took all 42 points | Bidders | 1 mark |
| Bidders bid 2 marks and took all 42 points | Bidders | 2 marks |
| Bidders fell short (they were "set") | The other side | The marks that were bid |
Texas players record marks with tally lines on a scorepad, often drawn so that the first seven spell out the word "ALL". The first side to 7 marks wins the game.
Point scoring (house rule). Some families keep a running total of points instead, playing to 250. If the bidders make their bid, each side scores the points it took. If the bidders are set, the other side scores the bid plus the points it took. You can switch to this in our game's Settings.
Example. You bid 32 with fives trump. Your side takes five tricks with the 5-5, 6-4 and 4-1 in them: 5 + 10 + 10 + 5 = 30 points. Not enough! You are set by 2, and West and East score the mark. With 34 you would have made it.
Nello (house rule)
Many tables allow one special call. A player who wins the bid at 1 mark or more may call Nello instead of naming trump. Their partner turns their dominoes face down and sits out, and the bidder must lose every single trick. In our game the doubles form a suit of their own during Nello, and the hand stops as soon as the bidder takes a trick. Nello is off unless you turn it on in Settings.
Common questions at the table
Can I trump when I could follow suit?
No. If you hold a domino of the suit that was led, you must play one. You may trump only when you can't follow.
Does a trump count as its other number?
No. Once fives are trump, the 6-5 is a trump only. It will not follow sixes, and leading it leads trump.
Who leads after the bid?
The player who won the bid always leads the first trick, whoever shook.
Ready for more? Our Texas 42 strategy guide covers bidding and play, and if you enjoy partnership games, Euchre and Spades share many of the same ideas.