How to Play Jamaican Dominoes

Jamaican dominoes uses the standard 28-tile double-six set. Four players each draw seven tiles, nothing is left in the boneyard, and play runs around the table.

Whoever holds the double six poses first — that opening play is called the pose. From there each player must match one of the two open ends of the layout. Match a six to a six, a blank to a blank, and so on.

Can't match either end? You pass. There's no drawing in the classic Jamaican block game, so every pass is public information: your partner and your opponents now know what you don't hold.

A round ends one of two ways. Someone plays their last tile and 'domino' — their side scores. Or the board blocks with nobody able to play, and the side with the lowest total pip count in hand takes it.

Matches usually run to six games. Win all six before your opponents win one and you've handed out a six-love, the most humiliating scoreline in the game.

Start on an offline table in Domino Gwaan Bad to learn the flow, then jump into a four-player online room when you're ready to talk trash.