Every round begins the same way: an engine domino goes in the middle, everyone gets a hand, and one player goes first. The app does all of this for you — here’s what’s happening so the board makes sense when it appears.

The engine

Each round starts with one double domino in the centre, called the engine. Rounds count down: the first round uses the 12-12, the next the 11-11, then the 10-10, all the way to the 0-0.

The engine is placed for you automatically and taken out of play — you’ll never need to find it or play it yourself.

How many dominoes you get

• 2-4 players — 15 dominoes each.
• 5-6 players — 11 dominoes each.
• 7-8 players — 8 dominoes each.

Whatever’s left over becomes the boneyard (also called the pot) — the pile you draw from when you can’t play.

Who goes first

In the first round it’s either random or the person who created the game, depending on how the game was set up. After that, the winner of the previous round starts the next one — though the host can change this. See Game rule options for the settings.

Starting your train

Your first domino of the round has to match the engine’s number. In a 12-12 round that means any domino with a 12 on it, such as 12-8 or 12-3.

Don’t have one? You’ll automatically draw until you do, so you’re never stuck at the start.