Dominoes

Object of the game

Get rid of all your dominoes before the others. The winner of a round scores the points remaining in the opponents’ hands; the game is played over several rounds up to 100 points (or 50, or 150 depending on the option).

How to play

• Double-six set (28 dominoes). In the block game, everyone receives 7 dominoes; with draw, 7 with two players, 6 with three and 5 with four.
• In the first round, the player who holds the highest double starts by playing it. After that, the winner of the previous round starts with the domino of their choice.
• In turn, each player lays a domino with one half matching one of the two ends of the chain. Doubles are laid crosswise.
• When you cannot play, you pass in the block game, or draw until you find a playable domino (draw variant).

End of a round

• Domino! The first to lay their last domino wins the round and scores the sum of the points in all the opponents’ hands.
• Blocked game: if no one can play any more, the player whose hand is worth the fewest points wins and scores the points of the other hands. In case of a tie, nobody scores.

Controls

Tap a playable domino (it lights up). If it can go on either end, then tap the golden spot of your choice on the table. Drawing and passing are automatic.

About the AI

The AI never sees your dominoes. It counts the dominoes played, deduces the numbers each player is missing (every pass or draw gives it away), and evaluates its moves: points shed, doubles to place, ability to follow suit and the probability of letting the next opponent play. The Master level draws hundreds of distributions of the hidden dominoes compatible with everything it knows; with two players, it calculates the end of each simulated round exactly, otherwise it simulates it all the way through, then picks the move with the best average return.