2/26/2021 Domino Games for Two People: 7 Great Games You Must Try!

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Top 7 Domino Games to Play with 2 People

Last Updated: October 5, 2020

Gather round a game-in-progress at your local pub or community center

and it’s easy to understand why many people see dominoes as

exclusively a four-or-more player pursuit. Yet while it may be common to

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play it that way, the truth is that there are countless domino games for

two people that provide all the fun of a doubles game, even when it’s just

the two of you.

In today’s guide, we’ve rounded up 7 of the best domino games to play

with 2 people, not only outlining why we think you’ll love them as much

as we do, but also o ering a quick step-by-step guide so that you can try

each one out for yourself.

7 Domino Games to Play for 2 People

1.ALL-FIVES

Ages: Teens and adults

Why it’s fun: All-Fives adds an extra challenge to the classic game of

Draw Dominoes, helping to keep the game interesting for more

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experienced players.

Objective: Score points by making the open ends of the domino layout

add up to 5 or multiples of 5 (10, 15, 20 etc.). The rst player to score a

pre-agreed number of points (usually 100 – 200) wins the game.

How to Play All-Fives:

Similar to other point-based games like Muggins and Sni , All-Fives is an

all-time classic that uses a Double-Six Dominoes Set. Though it can prove

a little complicated for younger children, adults and more experienced

players will nd it fully engrossing.

Our Pick

Double 6 Professional Domino Tiles with

Spinner in Wooden Box
$12.45

Buy Now

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The player with the highest-scoring tile goes rst, placing any tile

of their choosing down.

Both players then take turns to lay down a tile, matching the

numbers as in almost all dominoes games.

If a player can’t move, he draws another domino from the pile.

Points are scored any time the open ends add up to a multiple of

5.

The rst player to reach the agreed number of points wins the

game.

Top Tip:

An alternative version of this game is ‘All-Threes.’ The same rules apply,

except open ends should add up to 3 instead of 5.

2. BERGEN

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Ages: All ages

Why it’s fun: A versatile game with multiple variations, this classic draw

game can be easily adapted to suit players of di erent ages and abilities.

Objective: Score points by making the open ends of the layout match.

First to 15 points wins.

How to Play Bergen:

If you liked the idea of All-Fives but aren’t so enamored with all the

adding up, you might nd Bergen much more to your liking. Rather than

totaling up the open ends, your goal is to simply make them match.

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Any time a player makes the open ends of the layout match, they

score two points.

For example, if the open end on the right is a 5 and the player

makes the left open end a 5 too, both ends are showing a 5 and

thus points are scored.

Matching the open end with a double (say a 5 on one end and a

double 5 on the other) lands 3 points.

First to 15 wins.

3. BINGO

Ages: Adults

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Why it’s fun: Combining all of the skill and cunning of a classic card
game with the sheer enjoyment of dominoes, it’s a great quick- re game

to liven things up when you’re bored of regular dominoes.

Objective: Play the highest-scoring tile and win the game.

How to Play Bingo:

Based on the card game of the same name, Bingo is unique in that each

hand consists of a single tile from each player. The trick is to out-wit your
opponent by playing the highest scoring tile.

One player turns over one of the remaining tiles. The highest
number on that tile becomes the trump.

Each player then plays a single tile each.

A winner is determined as follows

Playing a trump tile wins

If both players play a trump tile, the highest one wins (ie: if the

trump is 5 and Player 1 has 5 + 2 and Player 2 has 5 + 3, Player

2 wins).
If no trumps are played, the highest-numbered tile wins

A double-blank outranks everything else and is an automatic

win.

4. THE DRAW GAME

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Ages: All ages

Why it’s fun: One of the simplest and most popular domino games

around, draw dominoes is the foundation from which countless other

classics originated.

Objective: Score points by nishing each hand with the lowest number

of pips on your tiles. First player to 100 wins.

How to play The Draw Game:

Though there are countless variations on the classic game of draw

dominoes, the rules below are the easiest to learn, making it a great

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place to start when introducing children or newcomers to the world of

dominoes.

Each player takes turns to place a tile.

If a player can’t move, they draw a tile from the remaining pile

until they can.

Play continues until a player has played all of their tiles or the

game is blocked, meaning no player can move.

At that point, both players add up the number of pips on their

tiles, and the player with the lowest total wins.

Their points are deducted from their opponent’s total and that
number is the number of points awarded to the winner.

First player to 100 points wins.

Top Tip:

If you’re adapting this for more than two people, you might be better o
with a larger dominoes set such as a 55-tile, double-nine set.

Our Pick

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Double 9 Color Dot Dominoes In

Collectors Tin (Styles Will vary)
$19.99

Buy Now

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GMT

5. STRAIGHT DOMINOES

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Ages: All ages.

Why it’s fun: It’s a great beginner-friendly alternative to The Draw Game
while still o ering enough of a challenge to keep skilled players engaged.

Objective: Finish the game with no tiles left or with the lowest number

of pips on your remaining tiles. The lowest total pips wins.

How to Play Straight Dominoes

If you missed our recent comprehensive guide to playing straight

dominoes, you’ll be pleased to discover that the rules to this one are
pretty straight forward:

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Gameplay follows the same rules as draw dominoes

Players take turns in laying dominoes end-to-end with matching

numbers touching

If a player manages to use all of their tiles, they win the game.
If the game is blocked, each player adds up the pips on their tiles.
Lowest pip-count wins.

6. MEXICAN TRAIN DOMINOES

Ages: All ages, but makes for a great child-friendly game.

Why it’s fun: One of the more unique domino variations out there,

Mexican Train Dominoes’ locomotive theme and game pieces add a lot

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of appeal for kids, while adults will appreciate the level of strategy
needed to win:

Objective: Be the rst player to build your train by playing all of your
dominoes

How to Play Straight Dominoes

While most of the best two-player domino games require a double-six
set, Mexican Train uses double-12 dominoes, though you’ll have much
more fun with this one if you buy a complete Mexican Train Dominoes
set that also includes the central hub and train tokens.

KAILE Mexican Train Dominoes with

Numbers, Color Double 12 Numerical
Number Dominoes Set Chicken Foot
Dominoes Set with Aluminum Case, 91
Tiles
$30.99

Buy Now

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Place the Double-12 Domino in the middle of the game area to

serve as the train engine

Remaining dominoes are shu ed and distributed, with each
player receiving 16 dominoes
Both players start to build a train by matching a tile to the engine

piece
They then take turns to build their train until running out of all
dominoes
Each player’s rst train can only be added to by that player

However, if they can’t move on their turn, they can create a

second train from the engine.
This second train is known as the “Mexican Train” and can be
added to by any player.

First player to use all of their tiles wins.

7. TRI-OMINOS

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Ages: Older children and adults

Why it’s fun: With its innovative design and a strategy that’s di erent
from the norm, Trio-minoes is a great way to shake things up when your
regular dominoes night starts getting a little stale.

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Objective: Win the game by becoming the rst player to reach 100
points.

Tri-ominos Overview
Much like Mexican Train Dominoes, playing this game means leaving
your double-sixes and nines aside and buying a special Triominoes set
containing all of those triangular-shaped tiles.

Pressman Tri-Ominos - Deluxe Edition

Triangular Tiles with Brass Spinners
$14.80

Buy Now

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Once you have that set, the game follows the same rules as
traditional dominoes, albeit with the added challenge that you
have to match the two numbers on the open side of a tile.

For example, if one tile features the numbers 1,2,3, then you’ll
need a tile that has either 1,2 or 2,3 or 1,3 in order to match it.
Each round ends when the game is blocked or a player uses up all
of their tiles.

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The player with the lowest remaining total wins the round, with

points awarded in the same way as draw dominoes.

For a more detailed explanation to the rules and gameplay, see our
complete guide to Tri-Ominos.

More Fun Two-Player Games to Enjoy

From the simplicity of straight dominoes to the uniqueness of Tri-
Ominos, we’ve aimed to give you what we feel are the seven best two-
player domino games for all tastes, ages, and abilities, but if you nd that
none of them quite hit the spot, don’t worry, they’re far from the only

games out there suitable for a duo.

If you and your playing partner like the tile aspect of dominoes, you
might also enjoy similar games like Azul or Bananagrams. The latter is a
kid-friendly tile game that has more in common with Scrabble or Boggle

than dominoes and is a perfect choice for playing with your young ones,
while the former is a fun, family game all about matching tiles to create
the kind of beautiful patterns that will have you wanting to play time and
again.

Prefer something completely di erent? Conquian is a good old

fashioned card game that works best with two people, while air hockey
and most darts games can also ensure hours of fun when it’s just the
two of you.
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