Dominoes rules: Kozyol, Telephone and All Fives
All three games here use a double-six set of 28 tiles. Kozyol ("the goat") is the Russian courtyard classic: nothing scores during play — when a hand ends, the losers write down the pips left in their hands, and whoever reaches 101 loses the match and is the goat. Telephone is the Russian take on All Fives: you score whenever the open ends add up to a multiple of five, the first hand opens with the [2|3], and the first move passes around the table every hand. All Fives, also called Muggins, is the classic scoring game: whenever the open ends of the layout add up to a multiple of five, you score that total.
Play free in your browser with two to four players — against bots, on one device, or online with friends by room code. Every online deal is provably fair.
Kozyol
Setup
Double-six set (28 tiles). Every player draws 7 tiles whatever the table size; the rest form the boneyard (14 tiles with 2 players, 7 with 3, none with 4). Play 2v2 with your partner sitting across the table, or free-for-all with 2–4 players.
Who leads
First hand: whoever holds [1|1] leads, and must lead with it. If [1|1] is in the boneyard, the lowest double in any hand leads; with no double dealt, the lowest tile. Every later hand is led by the winner of the previous one, with any tile they like.
Playing
Play a tile that matches one of the two open ends of the line. Doubles are laid crosswise but never branch — there is no spinner, the line always has exactly two ends. Nothing scores during play. If you cannot play, draw from the boneyard until you can; if it is empty, pass.
End of a hand
A hand ends with «domino!» — someone plays their last tile — or with a «fish» (рыба): nobody can play and the boneyard is empty. In a fish, the side with the fewest pips left in hand wins.
Scoring
The winners write down nothing; every losing side writes down the pips left in hand — in 2v2, both partners' pips combined. A hand left holding only [0|0] counts 25, only [6|6] counts 50, and [0|0] with [6|6] counts 75. «Eggs» (яйца): if a fish ends with a tie for the fewest pips, nothing is written and the points carry over to the loser of the next hand.
The goat
The match is played to 101. Whoever reaches 101 loses — they are the «kozyol», the goat. In free-for-all the lowest score wins. In Russian, sitting down to this game is called «забить козла» — "to hammer the goat".
Optional rules
Two house rules, both off by default in Settings. 13-point opening: while a side's score is 0, a hand's penalty is only written down if it is 13 or more. «Bald» finish: going out on [0|0] ends the match at once, and the finisher's side wins.
Telephone (All Fives)
Setup
Double-six set (28 tiles). Every player draws 7 tiles regardless of seat count — with 4 players the boneyard starts empty (block-style). The seat holding [2|3] opens the first hand; if [2|3] is in the boneyard, the lead falls back to [1|1] → [2|2] → … → [6|6], then to the lowest-pip tile in any hand. The opening tile is forced — the leader MUST play that exact tile on turn 1.
Round rotation
After each hand the lead passes clockwise to the next seat — it does NOT stay with the winner. The player who opened a hand never opens the next one; the seat to their left does, no matter who won or who was blocked. Each round is started by a new player.
Scoring
Mid-hand plays score on multiples of 5 (same as All Fives — sum the open arm ends). The lead is special: it scores ONLY when it is [5|5] (open ends 5 + 5 = 10). Any other opening tile scores 0, even if its open ends already sum to a multiple of 5.
Ending
Same as All Fives: a hand ends on player-out or block, with the loser-pip bonus rounded to the nearest 5. The match ends when a seat (or team in 2v2) reaches the target score.
All Fives (Muggins)
Setup
Double-six set (28 tiles). Each player draws a starting hand (7 for 2-player, 6 for 3-player, 5 for 4-player). The remaining tiles form the boneyard. The heaviest double in any hand leads the first hand; later hands rotate the lead clockwise.
Playing
On your turn, play a tile whose pip-half matches the open value at one of the chain arms. If you cannot play, draw from the boneyard until you can (or pass if it is empty). The first double to be covered becomes the spinner — two extra arms branch off its long sides, for up to four open ends in play. A double sitting at the end of an arm is still an open end, so it only takes the branch once play has moved past it; a double that leads needs both of its sides built on.
Scoring
After each play, sum the open values at every active arm. If the sum is a multiple of 5, you score that sum. Doubles count both halves at the lateral position; the spinner counts as 2 × face until other tiles cover its perpendicular arms.
Muggins
In strict mode, you must claim your score within a few seconds — tap Claim Muggins or lose the points. In lenient mode, scores are awarded automatically. Online play opens stealing: an opponent who spots a missed score within the window can claim it.
Ending
A hand ends when one player empties their hand (player-out) or no player can play (blocked). The winner scores the loser-pip bonus — the sum of every opponent's remaining pips, rounded to the nearest 5. The match ends when a player (or team in 2v2) reaches the target score.