What Is All Fives?
The scoring game behind Texas 42, Cutthroat and Muggins. Learn it here and the rest of the family makes sense.
All Fives turns every play into a sum. Lay a tile, add up the open ends, and if the total divides by five you score it then and there. The ends change with every tile, so the score swings all hand long.
The first double is the spinner and opens the layout to four arms. When you cannot play, you draw from the boneyard. The hand pays out again at the end: the winner collects the pips left in the other hands, rounded to fives.
Players
2-4 players, each for themselves. Four can play as two partnerships sitting opposite.
Equipment
A standard double-six set (28 tiles). A cribbage board is the traditional scorer.
Time
About 10 minutes a hand. A game to 100 runs 30 minutes.
Skill Level
Beginner to intermediate. Quick adding is the only skill the first night; planning the ends comes with play.
Setup & Deal
What You Need
- A standard double-six domino set (28 tiles)
- 2-4 players
- A cribbage board, or pencil and paper
Tiles Per Player
| Players | Tiles Each | Boneyard | Play To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Players | 7 tiles | 14 (draw from it) | 100 points |
| 3 Players | 5 tiles | 13 (draw from it) | 100 points |
| 4 Players | 5 tiles | 8 (draw from it) | 100 points |
The popular West Coast variant, Five-Up, plays the same except that every double is a spinner, not just the first. The layout sprawls and the totals get big. Agree which version you are playing before the deal.
Playing The Hand
First Hand
The player holding the heaviest double leads with it. After the first hand the winner of the previous hand leads with any tile.
Playing Tiles
- Play proceeds clockwise
- Match one end of your tile to an open end of the layout
- Doubles are played crosswise
- If you can play, you must play; if you cannot, draw from the boneyard until you can
- When the boneyard is empty and you cannot play, you pass
The Spinner
The first double played is the spinner. Its two sides are played on first; after that its two ends open too, for four open ends. Every open end counts toward the total.
Ending The Hand
- A player plays their last tile (domino), or
- The boneyard is empty and nobody can play: blocked
Scoring
Scoring During Play
After each tile, add the pips on all open ends. If the total is a multiple of 5, you score it immediately:
| End Total | Points | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5 pts | Ends show 4 and 1 |
| 10 | 10 pts | [6-4] led as the first tile |
| 15 | 15 pts | Ends show 5-5 and 5 |
| 20 | 20 pts | Spinner open: 6-6, 3, 3 and 2 |
| 25, 30, 35 | Same as total | Rare, and a big swing |
Counting doubles: a double on an end counts both halves ([5-5] is 10) until a tile is played on it.
End-of-Hand Scoring
The player who dominoes scores the pips left in the other hands, rounded to the nearest multiple of 5. In a blocked hand, the lightest hand wins and scores the others' pips minus their own, rounded the same way.
Rounding matters. Thirteen pips left in your opponent's hand is 15 points to you, and twelve is only 10. When you are about to go out, the hand you leave them is the score you get.
Strategy Tips
Make The Spinner Yours
Lead the [5-5] when you can: 10 points on the spot, and a spinner whose number you hold. A spinner in a suit you are short of works against you all hand.
Think In Pairs Of Ends
Each play changes one end. Before you play, know what the other ends show, and which tiles in your hand would turn the total into a five.
Draw For Scorers
When you must draw, you are also fishing. A drawn [5-0] or [6-4] can score the moment it lands.
Deny The Fives
If an opponent is scoring on a 5 end, change it. Taking away a scoring end is worth as much as scoring yourself.
Go Out With A Heavy Table
Your end-of-hand payout is their pips rounded to fives. Time your domino for when the other hands are still fat.
FAQ
After each play, add the pips on all open ends. A total that is a multiple of 5 scores that many points. At the end of the hand the winner also scores the pips left in the other hands, rounded to fives.
The first double played. Its sides are played on first, then its ends open too, giving four ends that all count.
The same game with every double acting as a spinner. Bigger layouts, bigger totals, same scoring.
Yes, from the boneyard until you can. Once it is empty, you pass.
Not yet. Today you can play Cutthroat head-up against the CPU on Dominologist; the other games are on the way.