Official Block Dominoes Rules

Last Updated on June 23, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Block Dominoes is one of the simplest and most widely played versions of the game. The objective is to be the first player to play all your tiles by matching the number of pips (dots) on one end of a domino from your hand to an open end on the layout.

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How to Play Block Dominoes

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Block Dominoes Overview

Players: 2–4
Domino Set: Double-6
Game Type: Blocking Game
Also Known As: Block Dominoes, The Block Game, Allies

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Setup and Tile Distribution

Each player draws 7 tiles from a shuffled double-6 set. If more than 4 players wish to join, they should agree beforehand on how many tiles each player should draw — for example, with 2 players, each may draw 7 or 8; with 3 or 4 players, 5 or 6 tiles may be drawn. Any remaining tiles after the draw are set aside and not used during the round, as Block Dominoes does not include a boneyard for drawing during play.

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How to Play

Players take turns in clockwise order, playing one tile per turn. A valid move must match the number of pips on one end of the tile being played to an open end of any tile already in the layout. If a player cannot make a move, they must pass their turn to the next player.

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Winning and Scoring

The first player to play all their tiles wins the round and calls out “Domino!” If no players can make a valid move, the game ends in a block. In that case, all players reveal their remaining tiles and total the number of pips. The player with the lowest total wins the round and scores points equal to the total pips left in all opponents’ hands. The game continues until a player reaches 100 points or more, becoming the overall winner.