How to Play Jamaican Dominoes

1. What You Need (Cut-Throat)

• Domino set: standard double-six (28 tiles).
• Players: 2 - 4 players
• Table: a sturdy table — slamming is part of the culture.

2. Setup & Dealing

Shuffle & Draw (2 Players)

1. Turn all 28 tiles face down and shuffle well.
2. Each player usually takes 7 tiles in both draw and no-draw styles. Some no-draw variations use 14 tiles each, depending on house rules.
   
   Caribbean Breeze Dominoes currently uses the 14-tile draw for 2-player games, with the 7-tile draw and no-draw variations coming soon.

Shuffle & Draw (3 Players)

1. Remove the double blank, leaving 27 tiles, and shuffle well.
2. Each player takes 9 tiles and keeps them hidden from the others.

Shuffle & Draw (4 Players – Cut-Throat)

1. Turn all 28 tiles face down and shuffle well.
2. Each player takes 7 tiles and keeps them hidden from the others.

Shuffle & Draw (4 Players – 2v2 Partners)

1. Turn all 28 tiles face down and shuffle well.
2. Each player takes 7 tiles.
3. Players sit with partners opposite each other at the table.

Who Starts?

• The player with the highest double (usually double-six) poses the first tile of the match.
  
  In 1v1 games using 7 tiles per player, the start is decided by calling for doubles to be posed: players first call for double-six to be posed. If neither player has it, they call for double-five, then double-four, and so on, until one of those doubles can be posed. If no doubles are found at all, the player with the highest tile in hand poses first.
• After the first hand, the winner of the previous hand typically poses the next opening tile.

The opening play in Jamaican dominoes is called the “pose” — the first tile placed in the center of the table.

3. Basic Play

Players take turns anti-clockwise, each placing one tile if they can. The line of tiles grows from the first pose.

Matching the ends

• You must play a tile that matches one of the open ends on the layout.
• Example: if the exposed ends are 6 and 3, you can play any tile with a 6 or a 3 on the touching side.
• Doubles are usually placed cross-wise.

If you can’t play

What happens if you can’t go depends on the house rules — there are two common Jamaican styles:

• Draw style: you draw from the remaining tiles (the “boneyard”) until you can play or no tiles remain.
• Block style (no draw): if you have no legal move, you simply pass / knock and play continues to the next person.

4. Ending a Hand

A player goes out

If a player manages to play their last tile, the hand ends immediately and that player wins the round.

The game is blocked

A hand is “blocked” when no one can legally play — either because all ends are locked in block style, or the boneyard is empty and no one has a matching tile in draw style.

• Each player adds up the total pips on the tiles left in their hand.
• The individual player with the fewest pips wins the block/round.
• If there’s a tie for lowest, the hand is usually a draw and nobody scores, and the next game is played for 2 points.

5. Scoring & 6-LOVE

In classic Jamaican dominoes, scoring is simple: each won hand = 1 point.

6-LOVE (6–0)

The iconic goal is to “give them 6-LOVE” — win six hands while the other players are still on zero.

• If you win a hand/round, you go up by one point.
• Score resets depend on the number of players. In 1v1, if you have points and the other player wins a hand, your score resets immediately. In 1v1v1 or 4-player Cut-Throat, a reset only happens when you have points and every opponent also has at least one point. If even one player is still on zero, scores do not reset. In 2v2 Partners, if your team has points and the other team wins a hand, scores reset and the race to 6 starts over.
• First person or team to reach 6 points while at least one other player or team has none wins with 6-LOVE.

Some people also play variations where any team that reaches six points first wins, even if the other team has scored — but the traditional 6-LOVE shutout is what most Jamaicans talk about when they say “run six on them”.

6. Basic Strategy

(Partners) Think in teams

• Remember: you’re playing with a partner, not alone.
• Don’t cut your partner off if they’re clearly trying to run a number.
• Pay attention to what they can and can’t play based on what has already hit the table.

(Partners & Cut-Throat) Watch the numbers

• Track how many of each number (0–6) have already been played and who played them.
• Use certain tiles to draw specific tiles out of your opponent's hand.
• Try not to be trapped with heavy tiles (like 6-6, 5-6, 5-5) in a potential block.

Know when to block

• If another player looks close to going out, you might aim to lock the game instead (only if you have a low count, of course).
• In a block, low total pips wins — keeping a “clean” light hand is important.