Pose the opener
The first hand begins with the player holding double six. That opening tile is the pose. After that, the winner of the previous hand starts the next one.
Jamaican Cutthroat dominoes
Cutthroat Dominoes
Cutthroat dominoes keeps the Caribbean line-game feel but removes the partners. Every player is on their own, reading the ends, counting what has gone, and trying to be first to stack enough wins.
At a glance
A quick starter version of the Jamaican Cutthroat rules, focused on deal sizes, turn flow, and match scoring.
- Players
- Two, three, or four players. No partners.
- Tiles
- A standard double-six set of 28 dominoes.
- Two players
- Usually 14 tiles each, or 7 each with a boneyard by agreement.
- Three players
- Remove double blank. Each player draws nine tiles.
- Four players
- Each player draws seven tiles.
- Direction
- Turns move anti-clockwise around the table.
How the hand plays
Cutthroat uses the same basic Caribbean line play as partner dominoes, but every decision serves your own hand.
Match either end
On your turn, play one tile to either open end of the line. The touching numbers must match, and doubles are usually turned across the line.
Pass when stuck
If you have no legal tile for either end, you pass. In boneyard play, a stuck player draws until they find a playable tile or the boneyard is empty.
Watch hard ends
Each number appears eight times in a double-six set. Once seven copies of a number are visible, an end showing that number is hard: only one remaining tile can fit it.
End the hand
A hand ends when a player plays their last tile, or when the board is blocked and nobody can move.
Scoring
Cutthroat scoring is about wins, not pip totals. You are trying to build a run before everyone gets on the board.
Domino to win
If you play your last tile, you win the hand and add one win to your score.
Blocked hands
If the hand blocks, compare only the tiles left in each player’s own hand. The player with the lowest pip total wins the hand.
Tied low count
If a blocked hand has a tie for the lowest pip total, the hand is tied and no player scores.
Key-bone finish
Some tables award an extra point when the last playable non-double is used as the winning tile, because both open ends were hard and only that tile could fit.
Six-love target
The match target is six wins while at least one other player still has zero. If every player wins a hand before anyone reaches six, everyone resets to zero.
Fresh start after a reset
When the table resets, the next hand begins again with the holder of double six.