In this beginners guide to playing dominoes in Red Dead Redemption 2, we show you the different types of games, tips, rules and locations to playing dominoes.
There are 5 different games of dominoes, here are the differences between games and the rules and tips on how to play each game.
RDR2 Dominoes Locations
Where to play Dominoes in Red Dead Redemption 2
Dominoes is a table game that can net you good money if you know how to play, below are the areas where you can find and play dominoes.
- Main camp: Located at the main camp in single player, times vary for availability.
- Emerald Ranch: Located at the train station on the north east side of the ranch.
- Saint Denis: Located in central part of the city in a garden gazebo.
- Blackwater: Located on the western edge of townin the mini camp.
Note, you will not be able to reach Blackwater area until you progress further into the main story line.
RDR2 Dominoes - Draw
In a Draw game, the aim of the game is to be the first player to put down all of your Dominoes.
There are 28 unique tiles in a dominoes set. Each player begins with seven, drawn at random, and any remaining dominoes are placed into the boneyard.
Dominoes are placed face down or in a rack facing the player, so that all players can see how many tiles their opponents have remaining, but can only see the pips on their own
The player who has drawn the highest double (tile with the same number of pips on each side) begins the game by placing it, face-up, in the middle of the table. If no player has a highest double, the player with the highest value tile will go first.
This creates the “line of play" and the other players, in turn, extend it by selecting tiles from their hand with matching numbers of pips on one side and placing them against the tile on the board.
In the above example, the next player would need to either place a tile with 5 pips on the left, or 1 on the right.
If a player can't place any of their tiles on their turn, they must take a new one from the boneyard until they get a playable tile. Once the boneyard is empty, they pass. Play goes on like this until one player wins the round by downing their last tile.
If no player can make a move, then the round is blocked and the winner is the player with the lowest pip count on their remaining tiles.
The winner's score is the total pip count of all the dominoes the losing player or players have in their hands. Games continue with new rounds until a player reaches the target score of 60.
RDR2 Dominoes - Block
A Block game follows the same rules as Draw, but there is no boneyard, so players cannot draw new tiles.
RDR2 Dominoes - All threes
In an All Threes game, points can be earned at the end of every turn by totaling the number of pips at each open end of the chain. If this edge value is a multiple of 3, then the player scores that number of points.
In the above example, the edge score is 5 + 4 + 3 + 3 = 15, so the person who last played scored 15 points. For their next turn the player could play any tile which has a 5, 4 or a 3 on either end. A point-scoring move in All Threes would be to play 3-3 on the right, bringing the edge score to 5 + 4 + 3 + 6 = 18.
In some circumstances a player might choose to make lower scoring or non-scoring, but strategic moves. This could serve to block other players, bluff about the tiles they have in hand, or save the most valuable tiles for later when they may be worth more points.
As with Draw and Block games, the round ends either when a player downs their last tile or the round is blocked. The winner receives the total of their opponents' pips, rounded up or down to the nearest 3. Games continue with new rounds until a player reaches the target score of 90.
RDR2 Dominoes - All Fives
All Fives games follow the same rules as All Threes, but players only score points when the edge score is a multiple of five - 5, 10, 15 or 20. At the end of the round, points won are rounded up or down to the nearest 5. Games continue with new rounds until a player reaches the target score of 100. See below picture for example.
RDR2 Dominoes - Spinners
Double tiles are always placed at right angles to the other tiles. In All Threes or All Fives, the first double tile played is called a 'spinner'. Once tiles have been played off both sides of a spinner, the line of play can then branch out in four directions by playing tiles off each end of a spinner. See below picture for example.
RDR2 Dominoes Tip
As a round of dominoes goes on, a canny player will be able to guess their opponents' hands by surveying the tiles already played and noting when other players have to draw or pass. This allows for strategic moves to block other players.
We hope this article helps with the players starting out. For the other Mini Games and Activities in Red Dead Redemption 2, see all the Table Games Guides and check out the complete Guides Section.