French is a Jamican domino game played every-one-for-themselves style. The game has a four-armed cross layout in constrast to the common two armed layout.
A quick starter version of the rules, tuned for players learning the table flow.
The matching rules are standard, but the four playable ends and double-first rules make the game different .
The opening play is the pose. In the first hand, the double blank is the required pose, so the player hodling it goes first. In later hands, the winner of the previous hand poses with any double they choose. If they haave no double, pose moves to the next player with a double.
The first stage opens the four sides of the posed double. When double blank is posed, each arm begins with a blank-ended tile, creating the four-way cross before normal extensions begin.
After an arm shows a new number, that arm cannot continue past that number until the matching double has been played. Once the double is down, matching tiles can extend that arm again.
On your turn you must place a legal tile if one is available. If nothing in your hand fits the current board, you pass.
A hand ends when one player plays every tile, or when the board is blocked and nobody can play. If blocked, the player with the lowest pip total left in hand wins the hand.
French scoring rewards empty hands, punishes trapped doubles, and makes repeated passes expensive.
At the end of the hand, each player adds the pips left in their hand to their running score. A player with no dominoes left scores zero.
Doubles unlock play. You cannot match a domino to an arm if the double is not already on the board. E.g. if there is a 5 end on the board, you cannot play a matching 5 until the double 5 has been played. Double holders can control the game. If you win with a double (i.e. last domino played) you double the scores of every other player.
Your score is doubled for every double you hold when the hand ends. E.g if yu have 2-2 and 1-6 when the game ends your score is 22. This can be doubled again if the winner wins with a double. Carefully consider how long and how tightly to hold on to doubles.
Three consecutive passes add 10 points to that player, then the pass count resets. An illegal play, or passing while a legal move exists, also costs 10.
If one player makes a move that leaves all three opponents unable to play before the turn returns, each passing opponent takes a 10-point penalty.
Standard rules end when any player reaches 100 or more, the lowest total wins. If the lowest score is tied, play another hand to break the tie. The Sixlove.app game lets you to 100 or 150
Double blanks count as 10 instead of 0. Players left holding the double blank at the end of a hand must count it for 10 points.
