The tiles

The most common domino set is the double-six set. It has 28 tiles, and every tile has two ends. Each end shows 0 to 6 dots, called pips. A blank end counts as zero.

A tile with the same number on both ends is a double. There are seven of them, from double-blank up to double-six.

Every number shows up on seven tiles. Six appears on 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 6-5 and 6-6. Remembering that makes it easy to work out who is holding what later on.

1. 1Turn all 28 tiles face down and mix them around. Many families call this the sopa (the soup).
2. 2Each player takes seven tiles and stands them up so only they can see the pips.
3. 3With four players, every tile gets used. With two or three, the leftovers stay face down on the side. They're called the boneyard.