There are many ways you can play your 5s & 3s game. Below you will find some new ideas you can try, to experience even more fun. All the games are my creations, and I will make sure all the other inventors will be credited for their efforts.

"4 corners" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time you play to 121 points, and you have "make" 31, 61 and 91 points exactly before you can proceed ..

"Nasty Four" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time, if you "make" a count that is 4 or multiple of 4, your opponent collect 4 points ...

"Blitz" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time you play to 31 points only ...

"Joker 53" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time bone 5-3 plays the role of a joker, and can be added to either of 2 open ends anytime ...

"Win Twice" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time we play to 121 points and every "corner", 31,61, 91 and 121 counts as a separate game ... instead of finishing the game at 31, 61 or 91, we continue playing, and the player who got exactly one of these corners earns 1 point ... 2 points is a win and game ends ... Example: Player A got 31 points first, scoring one point. game continues and player B reaches 61 points as first, scoring 1 point. game continues and who gets 91 point corner is the winner of the whole game.

"Froggy" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time you play to 121 points, and everytime you hit a two digit number ending with 1, you move your peg 10 spaces forward to the next number which ends with 1 ... example: you collect enough points to hit number 11 so put your peg immediately at 21 ... 01 is the first point that allows you to move to 11 ...

"I see you" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time each player gets 14 stones and there is no boneyyard. Player who owns double zero starts the game with any chosen stone.. Play is to 61 or 91 points. It's a completely open game.

"5 chain 3" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time whenever ends of the chain show 5 and 3, player who managed to construct it, gets 8 points premium. Just additional way of scoring.

"Anti 53" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time we play to 31 points and try to avoid scoring points. Who get as first to 31 corner loses the game. 1 point that usually belongs to the winner of a hand this time adds to the loser's of a hand.

"5 versus 3" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time, one of the players collect points for 5 and multiple of 5 and the other one for 3 and multiple of 3 ... players collect whole points for their score, for example, for making 10 points player get 10 points, not 2 like in regular 5s 7 3s, or for making 6 points player get the whole 6 points and not 2 points ... game is to 60, 90 or 120 points (divisible by 3 and 5) and these points have to be reached exactly.

"Shake the bones" - by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time we include 2 dice in our game. Before the move, player rolls 2 dice and if he/she can make two ends of a chain that matches exactly numbers on two dice, he/she scores points that equal the sum on the dice ... if the dice show 5 and 3 and the ends of a chain show 5 and 3 also, he/she scores immediately 16 points.

"Score .. or" by Dominolog
All the basic rules apply, but this time you collect points when the opponent doesn't score.
You add the exposed ends of dominoes and it increaes your overall score. Players do not score for 5s and 3s in this variant...

I am more and more excited about Fedration for domino 5&3 players ... as I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I am not very supportive of d9 and d12 sets ... they add more complexity and take away beauty of the game ... and this is not what we want ... I have another solution on how professionals should play ... it's known fact, that game, where luck plays substancial role, beginner can win with a master ... this is why world championship in backgammon is played to 21 points, Gin tournaments are played up to 500 points etc ... our d6-53 uses only half the length of a cribbage board, 61 points , leaving the other half unused ... and here is where my idea was born ... game can be played up to 121 points, but with very intersting twist, not just simply by moving the goal to the last hole on this board ... game can be played to 2 out of 3 wins ... and everything during just one game ...
1. the first finish line is of course 61 points ... and whoever gets exactly 61 points, wins the first game ...
2. game continues, and only the first player who reached 61 points is obliged to match it exactly, the second player can skip this points with his/her points (same applies to 91 points gate)...
3. the next finish line is 91 point on the board ... if this point is reached by the player who got the first finish line, the game is over with the score 2:0 ...
4. if the second finish line is reached by the player who did't get the 61 point, game continue to 121 points with the score so far 1:1
5. Who ever gets the last hole, wins the whole game 2:1 ...

easy right ? it tests players talents better, uses the whole board, is more dramatic and simply looks more funny and complete... I will try lobbying for implementation of this professional version ...
I wonder if you can try it at home ... please let me know.
Aikidomino.

game played with 9x9 set ... first bone, randomly chosen, is placed in between two playes ...
players get 27 bones and position them face up in front of them in 3 rows, 9 bones each ... here is the illustration:
...Player B...

...333333333
...222222222
...111111111

....[X|X]... (starting bone)

...111111111
...222222222
...333333333

...Player A ...

Rows are numbered 1, 2 and 3 ... with a row number 1 closer to the starting bone ...
All the rules apply for 9x9 set and we of course play to 91 points excatly.
Player with [0|0] starts the game and in case [0|0] is placed as a first bone, player with [1|1]
starts the game with any chosen bone FROM ROW 1 ... only when the tile from row 1 is placed on the table, a bone below it, in row number 2, can be used for play ... same apply for a row number 3 (tile from row number 2 has to free a path for a tile exactly beneath it in order to be able to play ...
Ilustration:

11.111.1
222222.2
33333333

As you can see tiles from row 2 and 3, just below dot (.), can be used for play ...
This is completely open game with a full information, and therefore it's game of skill.
Of course there is a luck factor since players draw bones randomly ...
Hope you like it.
Aikidomino.

this is a game of rappid actions and even faster scoring mechanism ... ok, we have two ends of our domino chain ... one is from the left side and the other is from the right ... a player can score points on the left side ONLY if she/he matches a stone in such a way, that the open half of the stone will have ODD number on it ... and she/he can score on the right side of a chain ONLY if the open half of the stone will have EVEN number on it ... easy, right ? ZEROS do not count in this game, they are neutral ... NOW is the trick ... if I am forced to expose, let's say, on the right side an ODD number, my opponent scores for it ... remember that your opponent has the exact reversed (mirrored) orientation ... here is the example:

............[6|3] ... my opponent started with this stone and collected 9 points (do you know why ?)
............[3|6][6|4] ... I added [6|4] and scored 4 points (EVEN number exposed on the right)
.......[5|3][3|6][6|4] ... my opponent failed to put an EVEN number on his/her right side and I scored 5 points ...

I hope all the points are clear now ...
Every round should be started by other player since the first stone scores on bothe sides and it gives equal chance for both players to start the round.
All other rules are like for regular Draw Dominoes ... play is to 100 or more points.
Enjoy.
Aikidomino.

this game is a free interpretation of a very good, but little known card game called Mate ...
But before we talk about the rules let me explain what "austrian way" of playing dominoes looks like ... here is how we usually place our bones:
[3|4][4|5] etc ....

and in austrian way :
[3|4]
..[4|5] ... do you get the idea ? number 3 and 5 are exposed and the game can continue like below:

......[3|4][5|1][3|0]
...[2|3][4|5][1|3]

The whole "construction" looks like a brick ...in our example above, players can match either 0 or
2 ...
And now back to our game:
RULES:
1. We use a stripped 6x6 set by eliminating all doubles (it gives us 21 stones)
2. Two players, each starting with 10 stones
3. 21st stone is placed horizontally in between the players.
4. The first player tries to match either half of the first stone on the table, and after this, game proceeds in only one direction
5. Players can build only the layer of the brick which is closer to them ... let me illustrate it:
Bones will have letters [a|a] for the first player, and [b|b] for the second one ... starting domino will be just [G|O] ...

...........[G|O][b|b][b|b][b|b]
..............[a|a][a|a][a|a]

as you can see the playe A has chosen to match starting domino going into right direction exposing his/her stone for the player B ... player B continues the game matching exposed part of players's A stone etc ...
6. The round ends when one of the players has no more matching stones, or the second player (B) put his last stone on the table ... (full end)
7. Points are calculated as follow ... Number of Stones on the table x Number of Pips on the last stone placed on the table ...
8. After the first round players exchange their stones and now the other player starts the second round ... now you can see why austrian way of playing is so convenient ... it's just very easy to
separate sets used by each player and exchange them ... player who played with sets [a|a] will play now with sets [b|b] ...
9. Winner is the player who got more points after the second round ...
10.You can play any number of even number of rounds, each time exchanging sets, so players have a chance to play with the same stones and thus eliminating luck entirely ...
Here is the link to the book where Sid Sackson "rediscovered" the game MATE for us.
http://www.amazon.com/Gamut-Games-Sid-Sackson/dp/0486273474

I would like to see an implementation of the above domino game on this site ... it's a very simple game with a depth of thinking necessary to play well ...
Hope you like this game ...
Aikidomino.

d6, d9 or d12 ? how about spinner (we do not have this option here) ... here is what I like the most:
1. simple set 6x6 (d6)
2. No spinner
3. Two players ... or possibly two teams of two players each ...
In my opinion simple set (d6) is what 8x8 board is for chess with standard set of men ... bigger boards with more pieces do for chess what bigger sets and spinner (or even spiners like in Five-Up version) ... do for dominoes ... they add complexity, but take away much of the fun ...
Of course, there are exceptions ... Chicken Foot is one of them, but this excellent game is a world of it's own ... or Cuban dominoes played with d9 set ... very good game ... being so against bigger sets I created a game that uses d9 set in an open way (like a board game)... next time I will give you rules for it ...
Aikidomino.

I created 9 magical squares (4x4)and would like to share them with you ... well, in a form of puzzle, of course ... here is which stones you would need for the first puzzle:

[5|5][4|5]
[2|4][3|2]
[3|1][3|4]
[5|6][5|3]

please rearrange the stones in such a way that all columns, rows and both diagonals are equal to 15 ... stones can be in any position, horizontal and vertical ...
I will reveal the position of stones for those of you who request it ... 8 more puzzles will follow soon ... please note, that all 9 puzzles, taking each puuzzle as a unit, constitute a huge magical square 3x3 ...

there is one certain rule in any domino game: tile have to match another tile already on the table ... nobody questions this ancient rule ... except me ! I invented a game when you can place any chosen tile on a table ... it doesn't have to match ... so, how to play this crazy game ?

There is a catch, of course, please read on ...

1. Two players take 7 stones each.
2. No spinner, no drawing (just like regular Block game).
3. Any stone starts the game.
4. Players are not obliged to match tiles on the table. ... but
5. Whenever a tile i placed on the table that doesn't match, opponent score points, that equal the sum of pips on the "false" stone ...
6. Game is played to 100 points (or 50 if you wish) ...
Hope you like this idea ...
Etaoni.

our series of funny domino games continues ... today about all of us, since everyone has or is a neighbor ... some of those "creatures" are very bad, and I am positive you met few of them ..
ok, let go back to domino ... take one of the stones and place it vertically in front of you ... what you see is a miniature neigborhood ... the half of the stone closer to you is your garden,
next what you see is a fence (horizontal bar on the stone) and finally, your neighbor garden ... these gardens are in our imagination only, and the number of pips on domino stones represents rotten apples in our and neighbor's garden ... as you can probably figured it out already, we will be throwing rotten apples over the fence (that's the reason for the title of this game, lol) ...
RULES:
1. Players draw 7 stones each, and one of the player places any stone vertically on the table.
2. Players immediately score NEGATIVE points that equal to the number of rotten apples they have on the first stone (each count points in their own gardens) ...
3. Second player places vertically a stone that matches one of the numbers on the first domino stone: these stones touch each others long sides.
4. Now ... when a player matches a number on his/her side, the other side of a stone are rotten apples thrown over the fence and the other player collects negative points for this act ... WATCH for suicidal moves !!! this the part of fun in this game ...
5. If player has no matching tile(s) he/she has to draw until playable stone is found ...
6. Game ends as in any other domino game either by domino or when the game becomes blocked ...
7. Winner is the one who collected less rotten apples (lower score) ...
***
Looks funny ? I know it looks, but believe me, it's not an easy game ... try it at home.
This the only form of domino game I know, when tiles are matched using their long sides ...

Hi, to warm you up something easy ... I like to collect points in domino games, that's my favorite activity ... I hope you like it too ... but there is something in human nature, that we like even more, when our opponents loose points ... look at the popular Fives and Threes domino game ... how about squeezing something between 3 and 5 to force our opponent to loose points ... this is why I "inserted" 4 where it belongs, between 3 and 5, and WHENEVER the ends of domino chain spells 4 or multiple of 4, the player who got this "gift" subtracts 4 points from his/her score ... easy, right ?
There are plenty of different ways the player can be punished for making FOURS ... can you invent some of them ?
I would be happy hearing from you.
next time I will introduce to you very unusual domino game called "Bad Neighbor" ... easy one to play with many ways for strategic thinking ...
Etaoni.

Hi everybody, I came to this site for two reasons ... play dominoes and grabble ... my hobby is inventing domino games ... so far I created close to thirty of them, and they are published on polish site about domino games ... I am a domino purist and prefer 6x6 set unless there are games that call for bigger sets ... I think that 9x9 set is the biggest that should be used, everything above is "not for humans", lol ... I hope I can translate all my games into English on this blog and share them with you ...
etaoni.