Partner Dominoes: Jamaican and Caribbean dominoes online
Partner dominoes is the Caribbean way of playing the double-six set: four players, two fixed pairs, and a partner who sits across from you. You do not count pips. You win hands and race to "six love", six wins to nothing. On PlayElephant you play it online with live partners, not bots, by the rules of the Jamaican table.
At a glance
- 4 playerstwo pairs, partners sit across from each other
- 28 bonesthe double-six set ("bones" is the Jamaican word for tiles)
- 7 eachall bones are dealt, nobody draws
- Hands, not pointsa hand is worth 1, or 2 with a key bone
- Six love6 wins while the other side has none
- Counter-clockwiseplay passes to the right
Prefer to play for yourself? The same game is also played as cut-throat (every player for themselves, 2 to 4 players). It is described on the rules page.
How it is played, in short
- Deal. Every player gets 7 bones. The holder of 66 starts the first hand and must play it ("posing the double six").
- Play. In turn, add a bone to either end of the line, matching the number. There is no spinner. If you have no bone that fits, you pass.
- Going out. The first player to play their last bone ("domino!") wins the hand for their pair.
- Blocked hand. If nobody can move, the player with the lowest count of pips in hand wins it for their pair. Your partner's bones do not count. If the lowest count is shared by players on opposing sides, the hand is a tie.
- Key bone. Going out with the one bone that fits both "hard" ends earns 2 instead of 1.
- Six love. Win six hands while your opponents have won none. If they win even one, the score goes back to 0–0 (Jamaicans say the game "bruks", it broke).
The complete rules, with worked examples, are on the Partner Dominoes rules page.
How it differs from Latin dominoes
If you know Latin American dominoes, the set and the seats are the same, but the game feels different:
- No pip counting. Latin pairs play to 100 or 200 points. Here only hands are counted.
- Personal count in a block. Only the lowest single player decides, not the total of the pair.
- The winners lead. After a hand, the pair that won it starts the next one, with any bone. In the Latin game the turn usually moves on around the table.
- The reset. A single win by the other side sends the score back to 0–0. Leads do not last.
- Key bone. A bonus for a clever finish, not for scoring pips.
How we play on PlayElephant
Default table settings:
| Setting | Default |
|---|---|
| Players | 4, two fixed pairs (partner across the table) |
| Set and deal | Double-six, 28 bones, 7 each, no boneyard |
| First hand | The holder of 66 plays it, automatically. No "sporting" |
| Next hands | The winning pair leads. The winner chooses: lead yourself, or give the lead to your partner |
| Key bone | On: worth 2 |
| Tied hand | No score, the next hand starts with 66 |
| Target | Six love: 6 wins to nothing, with the reset |
- A live partner, not a bot. You sit down with real people. A bot appears only if a player leaves, takes just that empty seat and is clearly marked.
- Ratings, pair tournaments and clubs. Your pair gets a rating and can play in tournaments and clubs.
- Every move is checked. The server only offers bones that fit. You cannot play out of turn or pass with a move available.
- Passes are automatic. If nothing fits, the pass is made for you and shown to everyone.
- Fair play. Verifiable deal: every hand is a fair random shuffle that can be checked afterwards. Nobody gets "help" with the bones.
- Automatic score. Counts at a block, key bones, ties and resets are worked out for you. At the end of a hand all remaining bones are shown.
- No money. It is a game of skill and memory, played for the pleasure of it.