All Fives Strategy: 9 Tips to Score More

In most domino games the winner is simply whoever empties their hand first. All Fives is different: most of the points come from the counts you make along the way. A player who goes out last but scored 40 during the hand often beats the player who went out first. These tips are the habits that make the difference over a game to 150.

1. Always Check for a Score First

Before anything else, ask: does any of my tiles make the ends a multiple of five? The quick way is to think about change. When you play on an end, that end's number is replaced by the far number of your tile. If the count is 12 and an end shows 3, a tile that turns that 3 into a 6 adds 3 and makes 15. You don't need to re-add the whole table, just ask how much each end would go up or down.

The game's count box and the numbers on each outlined place do this for you, which is a fine way to train your eye.

2. Take the Points You Can Get

A sure 10 now is usually worth more than a clever setup that may never pay. Games to 150 are short, and the opponent gets a turn in between that can spoil your plans. When two plays both score, prefer the bigger one, and when they score the same, prefer the one that leaves your opponent less.

3. Look at What You Leave Behind

After your play, your opponent faces the new count. If you leave 7, any tile that adds 3 (a 3 replacing a blank, a 4 replacing a 1) gives them 10. Totals that are one or two away from a multiple of five are dangerous; so are totals that a double could jump. Try to leave a count that needs an unusual tile to reach the next multiple of five, especially one whose numbers have mostly been played already.

Our Hard computer does exactly this. When it can't score, it compares what each of its plays leaves open and picks the one you are least likely to turn into points.

4. Respect the Five-Friendly Tiles

Some tiles score far more often than others: the 5–0, 5–5, 6–4, 4–1, 3–2 and 6–6 among them. Tiles that change an end by exactly 5 (a 5–0 replacing a 0 with a 5, or a 6–1 replacing a 1 with a 6) keep a scoring count scoring. If one of these makes nothing this turn, consider holding it for a turn when it will.

5. Doubles Are Big at the Ends

A double laid at the end of a line counts both halves. That can turn a quiet 8 into 15 in one move: play a 6–6 on an open 6 that was counting 6, and that end now counts 12. The flip side: a double you leave at an end is a big number your opponent can change. Covering a 6–6 that counts 12 with a 6–1 drops the count by 11, which might be exactly what they need.

6. Play the Spinner with a Plan

The first double becomes the spinner, and four open arms means many more ways to score for both players. If you are ahead in the scoring race, you may prefer to keep the layout narrow. If you hold several tiles of the spinner's number, opening its sides gives you extra places to play when other ends are blocked. Remember the spinner counts double only while one of its ends is still open: covering that end can drop the count sharply.

7. Count the Tiles

Each number appears on exactly seven tiles in a double-six set. Keep a rough count of how many 4s, 5s and 6s have been played. If five of the seven 3s are on the table and you hold the other two, an end showing 3 is yours alone. Your opponent won't be able to play on it, and you can choose when to use it.

Watch when your opponent draws, too. If they had to draw when the ends showed 2 and 5, they had no 2s or 5s at that moment. Leaving those numbers open can force them back to the boneyard.

8. Get Rid of Heavy Tiles in Time

When someone goes out, they score the other player's dots, rounded to five. A hand still holding the 6–6 and 6–5 hands over 25 points. Early in the hand, scoring matters most. As the hand gets short, and especially when your opponent is down to two or three tiles, start shedding your heaviest tiles even if they score nothing.

9. Know When a Block Helps You

If the boneyard is empty and you hold fewer dots than your opponent, a blocked hand pays you the difference. Ends that only you can match push the game toward a block on your terms. If you hold more dots, keep ends open that let you keep playing.

Playing the Muggins Call

With the Muggins house rule on, the game no longer adds the score for you. Make it a habit to count after every play, yours and the computer's. Tap Claim only when you are sure; a wrong claim scores nothing but costs nothing either. On Easy the computer sometimes forgets its own count, so it pays to check and call Muggins! when it does.

Want to see these ideas in action? The Hint button in the game tells you the best play, the count it makes and what it leaves open. For the full rules, see How to Play All Fives, and if counting fifteens is your favorite part, try Cribbage.