SixLove Domino

Learn Cutthroat Dominoes

Learn to play for yourself: pose, match the open ends, pass when you cannot play, and look for ways to stop your opponents.

Style Every player for themselves.
Four players Seven tiles each.
Three players Nine each; remove double blank.
Two players Fourteen tiles each.
Direction Counter-clockwise.
Win Empty first or hold the lowest blocked count.

Learn Cutthroat

Follow Reeva’s prompts. Use Next and Back for the explanations, then make the requested moves. At the end, try a game with visible hands or easy Duppies inside this reel.

Players and the deal Cutthroat supports two, three, or four players.

Cutthroat is a free-for-all where every player plays for themselves. It is usually played with four players who receive seven dominoes each.

It can also be played with three players who receive nine dominoes each after removing double blank, or two players who receive fourteen dominoes each.

Two ways to win Empty your hand or have the lowest blocked count.

Empty your hand Be the first player to play every domino in your hand.

Win a blocked game If all players are blocked, the player with the lowest pip count remaining in their hand wins.

Who poses The poser places the first domino.
  1. The winner of the previous game usually poses the next game.
  2. For the first game, the player holding double six poses.
  3. If the previous game has tied winners, the tied winner with the highest double poses.
  4. If neither tied winner has a double, the poser is chosen at random.
Turns and passing Match an open end or pass.

Play proceeds counter-clockwise. Each player places a domino that matches one of the open ends of the chain.

If a player cannot match an open end, they pass. The game ends when one player empties their hand or when all players are blocked.

Attack opponents Use a strong suit to make other players pass.

Your main goal is to empty your hand first. Manage your tiles so that other players are more likely to pass while you retain matching plays.

If you hold many fives and some fives are already on the board, an opponent is less likely to hold a five. Attacking with fives may make that opponent pass.

Lesson advice There are more strategies than a short lesson can cover. The next step is to practise with Duppies.

Try it out!

More tutorials

Review the basics or learn another way to play.