How to Play Fives Dominoes: Rules, Scoring, and the Spinner
The whole game in one page: the deal, who opens, how the count works, the spinner, drawing, going out, and blocked hands. This is how Cookout Dominoes plays it, and how most tables do.
Fives, also called All Fives, is the scoring version of dominoes. In plain block dominoes the only thing that matters is who runs out of bones first. In Fives, every single play can put points on the board, which is why it's the game at the cookout, the barbershop, and the back porch. It rewards counting, it punishes sloppiness, and it gives you something to talk about after every turn.
Below is the head-to-head game, two players, exactly as Cookout Dominoes plays it. Where tables differ, we say so.
What you need
One double-six set. That's 28 bones, every combination of 0 through 6 on two halves, including the seven doubles. Two players. Something to keep score with: paper and a pen, or the Take-Pen scorekeeper in the app if you're playing live with real bones.
The deal
Turn all 28 bones face down and mix them up. That's the wash. Each player pulls seven. The 14 left over, still face down, are the boneyard. You'll draw from it when you get stuck.
Some tables deal nine each, which leaves ten in the boneyard and makes for fewer draws and bigger hands. Either is fine. Decide before the first pull. The app offers both.
Who opens
This is the rule people argue about most, so here it is straight:
- First hand of the game: whoever holds the highest double opens, and they must play that double. Six-six beats five-five beats four-four, all the way down to double blank.
- Nobody has a double? The heaviest bone opens instead: the one with the most pips, and if two tie, the one with the higher big end (6-4 beats 5-5 on pips; 6-3 beats 5-4 on the high end).
- Every hand after the first: the player who won the previous hand opens, and they can lead any bone they want. No double required.
That last point matters more than it looks. Winning a hand gives you the open, and the open is the one play in the hand where you choose the whole board. We ran the numbers on which bone to lead with in The Best Opening Domino, by the Numbers.
Taking a turn
Play one bone so that one of its halves matches the number on an open end of the layout. A 5-3 can go on an end showing a 5 or an end showing a 3. The chain grows in a line, and until a double is played there are exactly two open ends: left and right.
Doubles are placed crossways, sideways to the chain. That's not decoration. It's how the whole layout knows which double was the first one, because the first double is special. It's the spinner, and we'll get to it.
How you score: multiples of 5
After you place a bone, add up the pips showing on every open end of the layout. If that total is exactly divisible by 5, you score the total. If it isn't, you score nothing and play moves on. That's the entire scoring rule. Everything else is detail about what counts as an open end.
Which opening bones score? Anything whose two halves add up to 5 or 10: the 5-0, 4-1, and 3-2 open for a nick (5), and the 5-5 and 6-4 open for a dime (10). Every other bone opens for nothing.
A short hand, play by play
Follow the count. You open with the 5-5 and score 10.
That's the rhythm of Fives. You aren't just trying to get rid of bones. You're trying to make the ends add up, and to make sure they don't add up for the other side. The full breakdown with more examples is in Dominoes Scoring: Counting the Open Ends.
Doubles count both halves
When a double is sitting at an open end, both of its halves count toward the total. A 3-3 on the end is worth 6, not 3. A 6-6 on the end is worth 12. This is what makes big scores possible, and it's also how you hand your opponent a big score if you're not paying attention.
The spinner
The first double played in a hand is the spinner, whether it opened the hand or showed up on the fifth play. It gets placed crossways, and it's the one bone you can build off in all four directions.
- Its two long sides are open right away, like any bone.
- Its top and bottom open only after both long sides have been played on. Until then, the layout has two ends. After, it can have up to four.
- While it's on an end, it counts both halves, like every double. Once both sides are played, it's inside the chain and counts nothing.
Only the first double is a spinner. Every later double is just a double: crossways, counts both halves on an end, but you can't play off its top and bottom. Some regions (Five-Up, for one) make every double a spinner. That's a different game and a wilder board. The full treatment is in The Spinner in Dominoes.
When you can't play: draw
If none of your bones match an open end, you go to the boneyard. Draw one. If you can play it, play it. If not, draw again. You keep drawing until you can play or the boneyard is empty. There's no drawing one and passing while bones are still face down on the table. Only when the boneyard is empty and you still have no legal play do you pass, which at most tables you announce with a knock.
Drawing feels like punishment, and it is a little. But every bone you pull is one more bone that can't be in your opponent's hand, and that's information. See How to Count Dominoes.
Going out: "Domino!"
Play your last bone and the hand is over. Say it. You win the hand, you keep whatever you scored on that final play, and you collect the pips your opponent is still holding, rounded to the nearest 5.
| Pips left in their hand | You score |
|---|---|
| 1 or 2 | 0 (rounds down) |
| 3 to 7 | 5 |
| 8 to 12 | 10 |
| 13 to 17 | 15 |
| 18 to 22 | 20 |
| 23 to 27 | 25 |
So if they're stuck holding a 6-4 and a 2-1, that's 13 pips, which pays you 15. Going out is worth chasing, but not blindly: a player who empties their hand while leaving a 20 on the board for nobody has left money on the table.
Blocked hands
Sometimes the boneyard is empty and neither player can play. When both players pass in a row, the hand is blocked. Both of you turn over what's left and count pips. The player with fewer pips wins the hand and scores the difference, rounded to the nearest 5. Nine pips against twenty-two is a 13-point gap, so the light hand scores 15. If the counts are equal, nobody scores, and the hand just ends.
Blocked hands are where good players make their living. If you're ahead and holding light, locking the board is a legitimate way to score. Details and tactics in Blocked Dominoes: Who Wins and How It's Scored.
Winning the game
Points carry over from hand to hand. First to 150 wins the game. That's the number at most Black American tables and it's what the app plays. You'll find 200 and 250 in older rulebooks and some regions, and there are tables that only count points in exact fives and call it at 100. None of that is wrong. It's just a different house. If you're sitting at somebody else's table, ask before the wash. Our comparison is in Dominoes House Rules: 150 or 200?
The callouts
Points in Fives always land on a multiple of 5, so every score has a name. You'll hear them at the table and in the app:
| Points | What you say |
|---|---|
| 5 | Nick (or a nickel) |
| 10 | Dime |
| 15 | Trees, or triplets, or "once, twice, three times a lady" |
| 20 | Twenty, big money |
| 25 | Quarter |
| 30 | Thirty |
| 35 and up | Earthquake. Rare. Enjoy it. |
Forty more terms, from boneyard to the house, in Dominoes Slang, Explained.
Quick reference
| Players | 2 (partners at 4 is a different article) |
| Set | Double-six, 28 bones |
| Hand size | 7 each (9 at some tables) |
| First hand opens | Highest double; heaviest bone if no doubles |
| Later hands open | Previous hand's winner, any bone |
| Score | Open ends total a multiple of 5 → score the total |
| Doubles on an end | Count both halves |
| Spinner | First double; top and bottom open after both sides are played |
| Stuck | Draw until you can play; pass only when the boneyard is empty |
| Domino | Opponent's pips, rounded to nearest 5 |
| Blocked | Fewer pips wins the difference, rounded to nearest 5; tie scores nothing |
| Game | First to 150 |
Questions people ask
How many dominoes do you start with in two-player Fives?
Seven bones each from a 28-piece double-six set, leaving 14 in the boneyard. Some tables deal nine each, leaving 10 to draw from. Cookout Dominoes lets you pick either.
Who goes first in dominoes?
In the first hand, whoever holds the highest double opens with it. If nobody was dealt a double, the heaviest bone (most pips) opens. In every hand after that, the player who won the previous hand opens with any bone they choose.
How do you score points in Fives dominoes?
After you play, add up the pips on every open end of the layout. If the total is an exact multiple of 5 (5, 10, 15, 20 and so on) you score that total. If it is not, you score nothing for that play.
Do doubles count double in Fives?
Yes. A double sitting at an open end counts both halves, so a 3-3 on the end is worth 6 toward the count. The spinner counts both halves too until both of its long sides have been played on; after that it sits inside the chain and no longer counts.
What happens if you cannot play a domino?
You draw from the boneyard until you pull a bone you can play. You may only pass when the boneyard is empty and you still have no legal move.
How many points do you need to win Fives dominoes?
Most Black American tables and Cookout Dominoes play to 150. Older rulebooks and some regions play to 200 or 250. Agree before the first hand is dealt.
What happens when neither player can play?
The hand is blocked. Both players count the pips left in their hands. The player with fewer pips wins the difference, rounded to the nearest 5. If the counts are equal, nobody scores and the hand simply ends.
What does it mean to domino?
To play your last bone. Call it out. You win the hand and score your opponent's leftover pips rounded to the nearest 5, so 13 pips left in their hand pays you 15.