How dominoes scoring works
Most domino scoring games use a double-six set and one of two ideas: score the open ends of the layout as you play, as in All Fives and Fives and Threes, or score only the tiles left in the other hands when someone goes out, as in the Draw and Block games.
The set and the draw
A double-six set has 28 dominoes, each end showing 0 to 6 pips. In All Fives two players usually draw seven each, and three or four players five each; the rest stay face down in the boneyard. The player with the highest double usually sets down first.
Scoring the ends in All Fives
After each play, add up the pips on all the open ends of the layout. If the total is a multiple of five (5, 10, 15, 20 and so on), the player who just played scores it. A double at an end counts both halves. The first double played is the spinner and can be played on from all four sides, so the layout can have up to four ends to count.
Muggins
A player who makes a scoring play but forgets to claim it can lose the points: an opponent who spots it calls "muggins" and takes them instead. That rule gave the game its other name.
Going out
The hand ends when a player plays their last domino. In All Fives that player scores the pips left in the opponents' hands, rounded to the nearest five: 1 or 2 pips are worth nothing, 3 to 7 are worth 5, and 8 to 12 are worth 10. Some tables round the total, others each hand on its own.
Blocked games
If nobody can play and the boneyard is empty, the game is blocked. The player or team with the lightest hand wins the hand and usually scores the pips left in the other hands. Some tables subtract the winner's own pips first, and a tie for the lightest hand scores nothing.
Fives and Threes
A favorite in British pubs: the ends score one point for every five and one for every three they add up to, so 6 is 2 points, 10 is 2, and 15 scores 8 (three fives and five threes). Going out earns a single point, no tiles are counted, and the first to exactly 61 on a cribbage board wins.
Draw and Block dominoes
The simplest games score only at the end: the player who goes out scores the pips left in the other hands, and a blocked game goes to the lightest hand. In the Block game a player who cannot play passes; in the Draw game they take dominoes from the boneyard until they can play.
Partners and the target
Four players often play as two teams of two, partners sitting opposite. A team that goes out scores the other team's tiles, or, in many partnership games, every tile left including the partner's. All Fives is usually played to 250, or 150 or 200 for a shorter game; partnership Draw dominoes is often played to 100.
What Score All does with these rules
Points in play, then the count
In All Fives you score whenever the open ends add up to a multiple of five. At the end of the hand enter each player's points from play (the app turns away anything that is not a multiple of 5), pick who went out, and enter the pips left in every hand. The winner's count of the other hands is rounded to the nearest five and added for you.
Blocked games
When nobody can play, leave "Went out" on Nobody. The lightest hand wins the count, and your table chooses whether it scores the others' pips, the others minus its own, or nothing. A tie for the lightest hand scores nothing.
Fives and Threes, and Draw dominoes
Fives and Threes scores a point for every five and every three in the ends (15 is worth 8) plus a point for going out, usually to exactly 61, and the app refuses points that would overshoot. Draw or Block dominoes skips the scoring during play: the winner of each hand takes the pips left.
Partners and bigger tables
Play two players, two teams of two, or three or four each for themselves. In partners a team's points from play can go in either partner's box, blocked games compare team totals, and you choose whether the winning team also counts the partner's leftover tiles.
Cribbage-board scoring
Many All Fives players keep score on a cribbage board, one peg per five, to 61. Choose that style, or the Muggins on a cribbage board preset, and the sheet writes a 15 as 3 and counts the tiles the same way; the preset plays to 61.
Dominoes scoring FAQ
What is a spinner in dominoes?
The first double played in games like All Fives. It can be played on from all four sides, which opens up more ends to score.
Who wins a blocked game of dominoes?
The player or team with the fewest pips left. They usually score the pips in the other hands; a tie for the lowest scores nothing.
What is the difference between the Draw and Block games?
In the Block game a player who cannot play simply passes. In the Draw game they take dominoes from the boneyard until they can play. The scoring is the same.
How many points do you play to in dominoes?
It depends on the game: All Fives is usually played to 250 (or 150 or 200), Fives and Threes to 61, and Draw dominoes often to 100.
Is there a free dominoes score keeper app?
Yes. Score All keeps dominoes score for free on any phone: points in play, the count at the end of each hand and blocked games, with the standings on a live link for the table.
How do you round in All Fives?
To the nearest five: 1 or 2 pips count nothing, 3 to 7 count 5, 8 to 12 count 10, and so on. Choose whether to round the opponents' hands added together or each hand on its own.
Does it work for Muggins?
Yes. Muggins is another name for All Fives. When someone calls muggins on a score a player forgot to claim, the points go to whoever called it: enter them in that player's box.