Rules · Scoring · FAQ
How to play Cuban dominoes
Four players, partners across the table, a double-nine set and first side to 100. Every rule from la salida to el trancado, as played at the Domino Park on Calle Ocho.
The fichas
Cuban dominoes is played with a double-nine set: 55 fichas, from the double-blank up to the double-nine. Every ficha carries two numbers from 0 to 9, and every pairing appears once.
First the fichas get mixed face down on the table, which is dar agua. Then each of the four players picks up 10, which is 40 in hand.
Your fichas are your own. Nobody can see another player's hand while play is on, so you work out what your opponents hold from what they play and from when they knock.
One rule before anyone plays. Anyone who picks up five or more doubles shows them, the fichas go back in for more agua, and everyone picks up a new 10.
Partners and turn order
You play as a pair, two against two. Your partner sits across the table from you, and the other pair sit on either side. Partners win and lose together, and the score belongs to the side, not to the player.
Play runs counterclockwise, to the player on your right. So the turn goes from you to the opponent on your right, then across to your partner, then to the opponent on your left, and back to you. Every turn passes from one side to the other.
La salida: who opens
La salida is the opening play, and who gets it depends on which game of the match you are in.
The first game of a match
In the first game, one player from each side draws a face-down ficha, and the side with the higher ficha wins la salida.
The side that drew higher chooses which of the two partners opens. The opener may play any ficha in their hand.
Every game after that
After that, whoever won the last game opens the next one: the player who went out, or the one with the lowest hand. After a tied trancado, the side that did not open takes la salida.
Playing a hand
The opener plays one ficha, and from there the line grows from both ends. On your turn, play a ficha that matches the number at either open end of the line. Set it down against that end, and its other half becomes the new open end.
If you can play, you must play. If you can't match either end, you pass, which at the table is called knocking. Nobody draws from the face-down fichas. A knock is on the record, and it tells the table which two numbers you were out of.
Watch the ends, count the fichas that have gone down, and read your partner. The game is won by the pair that reads the table best.
Winning a hand: dominó or trancado
A game ends one of two ways.
Dominó
The first player to play their last ficha goes out, and wins the game for their side.
Trancado
Sometimes the line locks and nobody can play: the game is trancado. Everyone shows their fichas, and the single lowest hand wins the game for its side. It is not the lower team total. One hand decides it.
If the two lowest hands are partners and tied, their side wins. If the lowest hands are tied across both sides, nobody scores.
Scoring and winning the match
The winning side scores every pip left in the two losing hands. Count the dots on all the fichas still held by the other side's two players, and add them up. The winners' own leftover fichas don't count. It works the same after a dominó and after a trancado.
For example, if you go out while your opponents are holding 23 pips and 17 pips, your side scores 40.
After a trancado, the single lowest hand decides which side wins, but the points still come from the two hands on the other side. So a low hand gets you the game, and the other side's heavy fichas pay for it.
Games are added up until one side reaches 100. The first side to 100 wins the match.
What we don't score
Capicúa, going out with a ficha that fits both ends, is not scored.
Pollona, winning the match while the other side is still on 0, is not scored either. The table will remind them about it, but it adds no points. Same with viajera, a pollona won in a single game.
A game is worth the pips in the two losing hands, and nothing else.
FAQ
The questions people ask most about how Cuban dominoes is played here.
How many fichas are in Cuban dominoes?
A double-nine set has 55 fichas. Each of the four players picks up 10, and the other 15 stay face down. Nobody draws from them during play.
Who goes first?
In the first game, one player from each side draws a face-down ficha, and the side with the higher ficha picks which partner opens. After that, whoever won the last game opens the next one. After a tied trancado, the side that did not open takes la salida.
What happens if I can't play?
You pass, which is called knocking. Nobody draws from the face-down fichas. If you can play, you must.
How is a hand scored?
The winning side scores every pip left in the two losing hands. The winners' own leftover fichas don't count. The first side to reach 100 wins the match.
What is a trancado, and who wins it?
A trancado, or tranque, is a locked table: nobody can play. Everyone shows their fichas, and the single lowest hand wins the game for its side, not the lower team total.
What if the trancado is a tie?
If the lowest hands are tied across both sides, nobody scores, and the side that did not open takes la salida next. If the tied hands are partners, their side wins.
Do you score capicúa or pollona?
No. Capicúa and pollona are not scored here. A game is worth only the pips left in the two losing hands.
What happens if I pick up five doubles?
Anyone who picks up five or more doubles shows them. All 55 fichas go back in, get shuffled again, and everyone picks up a new 10.
Can I play in my browser?
Yes. Play Cuban dominoes in your browser, or get the iPhone app from the App Store page.
Can I play with friends?
Yes. Tap PLAY WITH FRIENDS to start a private table and send the invite. Got a code from someone? Tap JOIN WITH A CODE. Empty chairs are played by the house.
Take a seat
Your partner is across the table. The fichas are already face down.
