Dominoes has a rich vocabulary built up over centuries of play. Whether you are reading a rulebook, following a tournament, or chatting with experienced players, knowing the terminology makes everything clearer. This glossary covers every term you are likely to encounter.

A

Arm — A branch of the layout extending from a spinner. In variants that allow branching, a single spinner can produce up to four arms.

B

Blank — A tile half showing zero pips. Western domino sets include blanks; Chinese sets do not.

Block — (1) A game state where no player can make a legal play and the boneyard is empty. (2) The name of a variant — Block Dominoes — where drawing from the boneyard is not permitted.

Blocked game — A round that ends because no player can play and no tiles remain to draw. Resolved by counting pips.

Bone — A common informal name for a single domino tile, dating from when tiles were made from animal bone or ivory.

Boneyard — The pool of face-down tiles remaining after hands are dealt. Players draw from the boneyard in Draw Dominoes.

C

Chickenfoot — A variant where a played double forces all other players to match that double before normal play resumes, creating a three-pronged “chicken foot” pattern.

Count — The total pip value of a tile, a hand, or the remaining tiles in all players’ hands. Used to settle blocked games.

Crosswise — The orientation used for placing doubles, perpendicular to the line of play.

D

Domino — (1) The game itself. (2) A single tile. (3) The act of playing your last tile to win a round.

Double — A tile whose two halves show the same number (e.g., 3-3, 6-6). Also called a doublet.

Double-six set — The standard Western set of 28 tiles containing every combination from 0-0 to 6-6.

Double-nine set — A 55-tile set with values from 0-0 to 9-9, commonly used for games with more players.

Double-twelve set — A 91-tile set with values from 0-0 to 12-12, used for games like Mexican Train.

Draw — (1) To take a tile from the boneyard. (2) The name of the most common beginner variant — Draw Dominoes.

E

End — One of the open extremities of the layout where a tile may be played.

F

Follow suit — To play a tile matching a specific number that has been led or played. Borrowed from card-game terminology.

H

Hand — (1) The tiles a player holds. (2) A single round of play from deal to scoring.

Heavy tile — A tile with a high total pip count, such as 6-5 (11 pips).

L

Layout — The arrangement of played tiles on the table, also called the line of play or tableau.

Light tile — A tile with a low total pip count, such as 0-1 (1 pip).

Line of play — The chain of tiles on the table. In standard Draw or Block, this is a single line; in variants with spinners, it can branch.

M

Mexican Train — A popular variant played with a double-twelve set where each player builds a personal “train” of tiles and a communal Mexican train is available to everyone.

Muggins — (1) A rule allowing you to score points an opponent missed. (2) An alternate name for the All Fives variant.

O

Open end — A number at the end of the layout that is available for matching. The number of open ends depends on the variant and whether spinners are in play.

P

Pass — To skip your turn when you have no playable tile (and the boneyard is empty in Draw Dominoes). In Block Dominoes, passing occurs whenever you cannot play.

Pip — A single dot on a domino tile. Also the basic unit for counting tile values.

Play — To place a tile from your hand onto the layout.

S

Set — (1) The complete collection of domino tiles. (2) The act of starting a round by placing the first tile.

Sniff — A first double that can be played on all four sides in some rule sets.

Spinner — A double that can be played on from all four sides. In some rule sets, only the first double placed is the spinner; in others, all doubles are spinners.

Suit — All tiles containing a particular number. For example, the 3-suit includes 0-3, 1-3, 2-3, 3-3, 3-4, 3-5, and 3-6.

T

Tile — The fundamental piece in dominoes — a rectangular block divided into two numbered halves.

Train — A line of tiles built by a player, most commonly used in Mexican Train and related variants.

Keep This Glossary Handy

You will not need every term in every game, but understanding the vocabulary makes reading rules, following strategy guides, and talking with other players far more enjoyable. Bookmark this page and refer back whenever you encounter an unfamiliar word.