How Many Dominoes in a Standard Set?
A standard double-six set has 28 tiles and 168 pips — every pairing of 0 through 6, blanks and doubles included. That's the answer; the rest of this page lets you actually use it. Deal a hand against the computer, see all 28 laid out, size up the bigger sets, and learn every version of the game.
The 28 tiles, and why it's 28
A domino is just an unordered pair of numbers, and a double-six set holds every possible pair from 0 to 6 once each. Seven numbers, each able to pair with itself (the doubles), gives 7 × 8 ÷ 2 = 28. The same formula, (n+1)(n+2)/2, drives every set — feed in the highest number and it returns the tile count, which is why the sizes leap 28, 55, 91 rather than climbing evenly. Here's the full set:
Reading the game while you play
The chain always has exactly two open ends, and the whole game is a negotiation over those two numbers. A few dynamics fall out of that. Doubles are liabilities: a tile like the 5-5 only ever plays onto a 5, and it doesn't change the end value, so it's easy to get stuck holding it — clever players shed doubles early. Counting the ends matters: once a number has appeared on all eight of its tiles, no more can be played, so if both open ends show a number that's run out, the table is about to block. The boneyard is information: in the Draw game, an opponent who draws three tiles in a row is telling you which numbers they're missing. And going out isn't the only win — if play blocks, the lightest hand wins, so late in a round it can pay to dump heavy tiles even if it doesn't empty your hand. The game above enforces all of this, so it's the quickest way to feel the rhythm.
Bigger sets, and what they're for
Sets are named after their highest double, and each step up adds a top number and a lot more tiles. The reason to go bigger is players: more tiles means more hands, so the large sets exist mainly to seat large groups. Pick one to see its tile count, pip value and seating.
The four games worth knowing
"Dominoes" is a family, not one game. The playable round above is Draw or Block — the bread and butter. These are the four you're most likely to meet at a table.
Each player draws a hand from a double-six set — 7 tiles for two players, 5 for three or four. Take turns adding a tile to an open end of the layout, matching number to number. Can't match? You pass. The first player to empty their hand wins. If nobody can move, the game is "blocked" and the lightest hand — fewest pips — takes it.
Mexican Train, in a bit more detail
It's searched almost as often as the rules themselves. Each round opens with a fixed double in the central hub — 12-12 first, then 11-11, down through the set — and players race to lay tiles end-to-end from it. Your own train stays private until you stall: the moment you can't play and have to draw, you set a marker on it and everyone may build on it until your next turn. The communal Mexican Train belongs to no one. The sting is doubles — play one and the next tile must "answer" it before normal play resumes, so a single double can freeze the whole table. You don't win rounds so much as lose by the smallest margin: fewest leftover pips after the final round takes it. (A playable Mexican Train mode is on the way here.)
The set you picture isn't the original
Dominoes were Chinese long before they were European, traced to the Song dynasty around the 12th century — but a Chinese set looks different. It has 32 tiles built from the 21 combinations of two dice, several duplicated, with no blanks at all. The 28-tile double-six the world now uses, blanks and all, is the European redesign that appeared in Italy and France in the 18th century. The "standard set" is really a standard Westernset — one regional version of a much older idea.
Frequently asked questions
How many dominoes are in a standard set?
28. A standard "double-six" set runs every pairing of the numbers 0 to 6, which comes to 28 tiles. It's the set most people mean by "a set of dominoes".
How many dominoes in a double-twelve (Mexican Train) set?
91 tiles. Mexican Train is normally played with a double-twelve set so up to eight people can play; a double-nine (55 tiles) works for smaller groups.
How many dots are on a set of dominoes?
168 pips in a double-six set. Each number from 0 to 6 appears eight times across the 28 tiles, and 8 × (0+1+2+3+4+5+6) = 8 × 21 = 168.
How do you play dominoes?
Deal a hand each, then take turns matching a tile to an open end of the chain. In Block you pass when you can't go; in Draw you take from the boneyard first. First to empty their hand wins, or the lowest pip count if the game blocks. You can play a full round against the computer in the game above.
Is there an official competition set?
For traditional block, draw and All Fives play — including most competitive leagues — the double-six 28-tile set is the standard. Mexican Train events use the double-twelve set. There's no single global governing body, so "standard" means the set the game in question is built around.
- Tile count follows (n+1)(n+2)/2: double-six 28, double-nine 55, double-twelve 91, double-fifteen 136, double-eighteen 190.
- Pip totals: double-six 168 (each of 0–6 appears 8 times; 8 × 21). General form (n+2)·n(n+1)/2.
- Mexican Train is standardly played with a double-twelve set (up to 8 players); double-nine suits smaller groups.
- Origin: Chinese dominoes (Song dynasty, ~12th c.) use 32 tiles with no blanks; the 28-tile double-six is the later European set.
28 tiles, 168 dots, and at least four different games hiding in the same little box — now with one you can play right here.