What is Partnership dominoes?
In partnership dominoes four players form two teams. Partners sit opposite each other, so the turns alternate between the teams: the first and third seats play together against the second and fourth. Each player still plays only their own tiles, and the rules of matching the ends of the line do not change.
With the double-six set each player is dealt 7 tiles, so all 28 tiles are in play and nobody draws; a player who cannot match an end passes. When either partner plays their last tile the team wins, and both partners are credited with the pips left in the other team's hands. If nobody can play, the team with fewer pips in its two hands together wins; equal totals are a draw.
You cannot see your partner's tiles, but you can read them from the play. A partner who passes on a number has none of it, and a partner who leads or keeps playing a number probably holds more. Good partners keep open the ends the other one can play on and shut the ends the opponents need.
Partnership play needs four seats: the option appears in the table setup only when the table has four.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard Dominoes | Partnership dominoes |
|---|---|---|
| Players | Standard DominoesTwo to four players, each playing for themselves. | Partnership dominoesExactly four players in two teams of two. |
| Seats | Standard DominoesEvery other player is an opponent. | Partnership dominoesPartners sit opposite each other: the first and third seats against the second and fourth. |
| Deal | Standard DominoesWith four players, 5 tiles each and 8 in the boneyard. | Partnership dominoes7 tiles each, so all 28 tiles are dealt and nobody draws. Larger sets deal 10 each from double-nine and 15 from double-twelve. |
| Going out | Standard DominoesThe first player out wins and is credited with the pips left in the other hands. | Partnership dominoesWhen either partner goes out, the team wins. Both partners are credited with the pips left in the other team's hands. |
| Blocked game | Standard DominoesThe lowest pip total in a single hand wins; equal lowest totals are a draw. | Partnership dominoesThe team with fewer pips in its two hands together wins; equal totals are a draw. |
| Scoring games | Standard DominoesAll Fives is played to 200 and Bergen to 10 with four players. | Partnership dominoesPartners add up their points, so the side plays to 250 in All Fives and to 15 in Bergen. These games keep their deal of 5 tiles each. |
History
Dominoes has been played by four from its early days in Europe: the earliest European rules describe a simple block game for two or four players. The Spanish and Latin American version of the game is played in teams of two, and dominoes is an ingrained cultural activity in the Caribbean.
The best-known partnership game is perhaps Cuban dominoes, which accounts of the game describe as four players in two partnerships, partners sitting opposite, with a double-nine set and 10 tiles each. Partnership play is also part of the Block game: the four-handed Block game can be played in partnerships or as individuals.