Domena (الدومنة): Arabic dominoes online
Domena is the dominoes of Iraq, the Levant and Egypt: the double-six set, seven tiles each, and a simple goal of getting rid of your tiles first. On PlayElephant you play it one on one or two against two, with live opponents and a live partner, not bots.
At a glance
- 2 or 4 playersone on one, or two pairs with partners sitting opposite
- 28 tilesthe double-six set, from 00 to 66
- 7 tiles eachwith two players, the other 14 form the boneyard
- Block or drawno boneyard with four players, drawing with two
- To 100the winner of each deal scores the pips left in the losers' hands
- Counter-clockwiseno spinner, no points during the deal
How it is played, in short
- Deal. Each player takes 7 tiles. With two players the other 14 stay face down as the boneyard.
- First tile. In the first deal the holder of 66 (four players) or of the highest double (two players) starts with it.
- Matching. Each turn you add a tile with a number equal to one of the two open ends of the line.
- No move. With two players you draw from the boneyard until a tile fits. With four players you pass.
- End of the deal. The first player to play their last tile wins. If nobody can move, the deal is blocked and the lowest hand wins.
- Score. The winner (or the winning pair) scores the pips on the tiles left in the opponents' hands. The first side to reach 100 wins the game.
The complete rules, with examples, are on the Domena rules page.
How we play on PlayElephant
Default table settings:
| Setting | Default |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 (one on one) or 4 (two against two) |
| Set and hand | Double six, 7 tiles each |
| Boneyard | Two players: 14 tiles, draw until a tile fits. Four players: none |
| First deal | 66 for four players, the highest double for two. Later deals: the previous winner leads any tile |
| Direction | Counter-clockwise |
| Deal won by going out | Pips of the opponents' tiles (both opponents in a pair game) |
| Blocked deal | Lowest hand wins (in a pair game, the pair of the player with the lowest hand) |
| Tie in a block | No points |
| Game target | 100 points |
- A live partner, not a bot. Pair games are played by people. Pair rating, pair tournaments and clubs are part of the platform.
- Bots are marked. A bot sits down only in place of a player who has left, and everyone can see it.
- Every move is checked. The server accepts only a legal tile. Breaking the rules is impossible, and you cannot pass when you have a move.
- Automatic scoring. Pips and the score are counted for you after every deal.
- No money. The game is played for the score only.
Why people like it
The rules fit in a minute, yet every move is a choice: which end to play, which tile to keep, what your partner or opponent is missing. A deal is short, so a game is quick, and the tables stay friendly. It is the same game played in cafés from Baghdad to Cairo, now at a table you can join at any time.
Fair play
Every deal is a fair shuffle that can be verified afterwards. Nobody chooses the tiles you get and nobody gets help from the table.