How to Play All Threes

By Jaques of London · Est. 1795 · Updated 2026-08-17

All Threes is a scoring dominoes game played with a standard double-six set. Unlike block dominoes, where the sole aim is to empty your hand, All Threes rewards you every time you place a tile that makes the exposed ends of the chain add up to three, six, nine, or any higher multiple of three. That constant back-and-forth scoring keeps every turn meaningful and the lead can change hands right up to the final tile.

The game is popular in pubs, social clubs, and kitchens across Britain and the southern United States, typically played as a straight two-player contest or as a four-player partnership game. Its blend of straightforward rules and genuine tactical depth makes it one of the most satisfying games in the domino family for players of almost any age.

A little history

All Threes belongs to the family of "muggins" or "scoring" domino games. Its origins are unclear, though scoring domino games of this type are widely documented in Britain and the American South from at least the nineteenth century. The double-six domino set itself arrived in Europe from China via trade routes, traditionally said to have reached Britain in the eighteenth century. All Threes is sometimes grouped with Five-Up and Muggins as part of a related scoring tradition, but precisely when and where the multiples-of-three variant crystallised as a named game is not firmly established in the historical record.

Setting up

1. Turn all 28 tiles face down and shuffle them thoroughly on the table.
2. Each player draws their starting hand: 7 tiles each for 2 players; 5 tiles each for 3 or 4 players.
3. Leave the remaining tiles face down as the boneyard (draw pile).
4. The player holding the highest double leads first. If no player holds a double, the player with the heaviest tile leads. On subsequent rounds, the winner of the previous round leads.

How to play

1. The lead player places any tile face up in the centre of the table to begin the layout. Both ends of this first tile are immediately the two open ends.
2. Play passes clockwise. On your turn you must place one tile from your hand so that one of its numbers matches an open end of the layout.
3. Tiles are placed end to end. Doubles are placed crossways and both of their pips count when calculating the end sum. The spinner (the first double played, if any) may also branch the layout into four directions; all four open ends are then summed.
4. After placing a tile, immediately calculate the sum of all open ends. If that sum is a multiple of three (3, 6, 9, 12, and so on), you score that number of points. Record the score now, before play continues.
5. If you cannot play a tile from your hand, you must draw from the boneyard one tile at a time until you can play or the boneyard is empty. You may not pass while tiles remain in the boneyard.
6. If the boneyard is empty and you still cannot play, you pass your turn. The game ends when one player empties their hand, or when all players are blocked.
7. When a player goes out (plays their last tile), they score the sum of all pips remaining in all other players' hands, rounded to the nearest multiple of three. If no rounding is needed and the remainder is not a multiple of three, round to the nearest multiple (round 0.5 up).
8. If the game ends in a block (no player can move), the player with the lowest pip count in hand scores the combined pip total of all other players' hands, again rounded to the nearest multiple of three.
9. Play as many rounds as needed until one player reaches or exceeds the target score (commonly 120 points).

Winning and scoring

The first player or partnership to accumulate 120 points wins the game. Points are scored during play whenever the open ends sum to a multiple of three, and a bonus is scored at the end of each round by the player who goes out or, in a block, by the player holding the fewest pips. Partnerships combine each partner's individual scores. In partnership play, agree before the game whether 120 or 61 points is the target, as both are in common use. If two players reach the target in the same round, the player with the higher total wins.

The fine points

The most common dispute concerns the spinner rule. Strictly, only the first double played becomes the spinner, allowing four-direction branching. Subsequent doubles extend only the arm on which they are played and do not create new branches. If your group has been playing all doubles as spinners, agree on the rule before the game starts and stick to it throughout. A second frequent question is whether a player may examine the boneyard to count remaining tiles: they may not look at the faces, but counting how many tiles remain is perfectly acceptable.

Rounding the end-of-round bonus is another regular source of argument. The standard ruling is to round to the nearest multiple of three, with halves rounding up. So a remainder pip total of 14 rounds to 15, a total of 13 rounds to 12, and a total of 7 rounds to 6. Some groups prefer simply to drop any non-multiple rather than round; if you use that variant, agree before play begins. Also note that the player going out does not score their own remaining pips (they have none), only those left in opponents' hands.

How to win more often

• Count open ends constantly. Before placing a tile, work out what the new end sum will be. Aim for multiples of three on your own turn and try to leave sums that are hard for the next player to convert into a score.
• Hold doubles carefully. A double locks both ends of an arm to the same number, which limits what your opponents can play there. Playing a double at the right moment can force opponents to draw from the boneyard.
• Track the boneyard. Keep a rough count of how many tiles remain. When the boneyard is nearly empty, playing defensively to block an opponent who is close to going out becomes more valuable than chasing small scores.
• In partnership play, feed your partner's strong suits. If you know your partner holds high doubles in a particular number, leave that end open so they can score and also extend their options.
• Keep your pip count low from mid-game. You cannot always control whether the game ends in a block, and a lighter hand protects you from handing your opponent a large bonus. Shed heavy tiles when a safe opportunity arises, even if the play does not score immediately.

Variations

All Fives

Played identically to All Threes except that players score whenever the open ends sum to a multiple of five. The scoring opportunities come less frequently but are often larger. The target is commonly 61 points, since scores always rise in multiples of five and 61 is the first number that cannot be reached in a single play from zero.

Muggins

In Muggins, if you place a tile that creates a multiple-of-three (or five, depending on the agreed variant) sum but fail to claim your score before the next player takes their turn, any opponent may call "Muggins" and claim those points for themselves. This rule sharpens attention dramatically and is widely used in competitive and pub play.

Partnership All Threes

Four players divide into two fixed partnerships, sitting opposite each other. Partners pool their scores throughout the game. Communication about hand contents is not permitted beyond what can be inferred from tile placement. The partnership that first reaches 120 combined points wins. This format adds a cooperative layer of play and is a popular choice when all four players are of similar ability.

All Threes with a Double-Nine Set

The game is extended by using a double-nine set (55 tiles) instead of the standard double-six. Each player draws nine tiles to start. The larger set increases the number of possible plays and open-end combinations, extends playing time to roughly 40 to 60 minutes, and suits experienced players looking for a more complex game without changing the core rules.

All Threes: frequently asked questions