How do you count points in dominoes?

Question

How do you count points in dominoes?

Answer 1

This is how my friends and I play:

Everyone draws 7 tiles.  The person who draws the double 6 puts it down to start.

Play goes clockwise from where it starts.   To determine points, count all the dots on the outside parts of the tiles on the edge.  If the spinner (tile you start with/build on) is only covered on one side, it is counted, if it's covered on 2 or more sides, it's not.  All double tiles are placed perpendicularly, and both sides of the tile count for points.

In order to score, the total # of dots on the end tiles must be a multiple of 5 (5, 10, 15, etc.)  In order to start scoring points, you must 'open' by scoring 10 points in one turn (so if you make 5 points before you make 10, that 5 doesn't count because you hadn't 'opened' yet).  If you play multiple rounds in the same game, each player only needs to open once.

Example: Person 1 draws the double 6 and starts the game.  Player 2 on his left puts down a 6 - 3.  The outside tiles are double 6 and 3, totaling 15, so Player 2 gets 15 points.  Player 3 puts down a 6 - 1 on the other side of the spinner.  Now the outside #s are 1 and 3 (totaling 4), no points scored.  Player 4 puts down a 1 - 2, so now the ends are 2 and 3, scoring 5 points (if he's opened).

Keep taking turns like that until one person puts down his last tile, winning that round.  All the other players show the tiles remaining in their hands, and the winner scores bonus points equal to the total of dots on all the remaining tiles, rounded down to the nearest 5 (so if 23 points were left over, the winner would get 20 bonus points).

We usually set a point goal at the beginning (200-300 or thereabouts), and the first person to score that many points is the winner.  We end up playing half a dozen rounds or more.

I hope that all made sense, it's a little hard to explain without having the tiles to actually show you with.

Answer 2

Scoring

In some domino games, part of the score is obtained from the total number of pips at the ends of the line of play as the game progresses. If only one domino has been played, both ends of that domino are ends of the line of play. Thus, if a 5-5 tile is played, the count would be 10.

If two dominoes have been played, the count depends on whether both tiles are with the line of play or one tile is with and the other tile is across the line of play. For example, if the 3-5 and 5-1 tiles are played, the count is 4 (3+1). The matching halves of each of the two dominoes would be joined, end to end, with the open ends being 3 and 1. If the 3-5 and 5-5 tiles are played, the count is 13 (3+5+5). The double tile, 5-5, would be played across the line of play, and both halves of the double would be considered ends of the line of play.

Given the last example, if a tile is now played on the 5-5, assuming it is not a spinner, the 5-5 is no longer an end for the purpose of counting. See the example below. The line of play is 3-5, 5-5, 5-1, and the count is 4 (3+1). If the 5-5 is not a spinner in this case, the 5-5 is not an end.

In some domino games, a score is made only when the count of the ends of the line of play are a multiple of 5 or a multiple of 3, for example.

Another scoring method used in many domino games is to take the losing players' total number of pips by counting the pips on the tiles left in their hands at the end of a hand or the game and then adding that number to the winner's score.

Here is a rule variation that players may agree to employ: When counting the pips on the tiles left in the losers' hands at the end of a hand or the game, count only one end of a double (i.e., 4-4 counts as only 4 points).