How to Play Puerto Rican Dominoes
Puerto Rican dominoes is the island's favorite table game, played loudly and quickly at home, in plazas and in tournaments. It's a partnership blocking game with a double-six set, and like Cuban dominoes it rewards memory, teamwork and reading your partner.
Setup
Four players form two teams, with partners sitting across from each other. Shuffle the 28 tiles of a double-six set face down, and each player draws 7 tiles. That deals out the whole set, so there is no boneyard and no drawing. (Two or three players can also play individually, usually with drawing allowed, but the partnership game is the classic.)
Gameplay
In the first hand, the player holding the double six usually leads with it. After that, who leads depends on the table: often the winner of the previous hand, or the next player in turn. Play goes counter-clockwise in most Puerto Rican games. On your turn, match a tile to one of the two open ends; if you can't, you pass.
The hand ends when someone plays their last tile (dominó) or when no one can play (a tranque, or blocked game). In a tranque, the team with the lower combined count usually wins the hand; some tables compare only the player who blocked and the next player, and tie-break rules vary.
Scoring
The team that wins the hand scores the pips left in the other players' hands. Many Puerto Rican tables count every tile still out, including the winner's partner's, and some round the total. Casual games are commonly played to 500 points; tournaments and many clubs play to 200.
Common house bonuses include a capicúa (going out with a non-double tile that fits both open ends, often worth 100 points) and the chuchazo (going out with the double blank). Some tables also give a bonus for each game won in a match. The amounts vary, so agree on them before you start.
Count every hand in one photo
SnapDominos totals the pips left on the table from a photo, and with Pro keeps the running score for each team.
FAQ
- How do you play Puerto Rican dominoes?
- Four players in two partnerships each draw 7 tiles from a double-six set, so all 28 tiles are dealt and there is no drawing. Players take turns matching tiles to the open ends; if you can't play, you pass. The team that goes out, or has the lowest count when the game is blocked, scores the pips left in the other hands.
- What score do you play to in Puerto Rican dominoes?
- Casual games are commonly played to 500 points; tournaments and many clubs play to 200.
- What is a capicúa in dominoes?
- Going out with a tile that is not a double and matches both open ends of the line. Many Puerto Rican tables award a bonus for it, commonly 100 points, though amounts vary.
- Who starts in Puerto Rican dominoes?
- In the first hand, the player holding the double six usually leads with it. After that, the lead typically rotates or goes to the winner of the previous hand, depending on house rules.