Dominoes - Tiles and Suits

Tiles and Suits

Domino tiles, also known as bones, are twice as long as they are wide and usually have a line in the middle dividing them into two squares. The value of either side is the number of spots or pips. In the most common variant (Double Six) the values range from blank or 0 (no pips) to 6. The sum of the two values, i.e. the total number of pips, may be referred to as the rank or weight of a tile, and a tile with more pips may be called heavier than a lighter tile with fewer pips.

Tiles are generally named after their two values; e.g. 2–5 or 5–2 are alternative ways of describing the tile with the values 2 and 5. Tiles that have the same value on both ends are called doubles, and are typically referred to as double-zero, double-one etc. Tiles with two different values are called singles.

Every tile belongs to the two suits of its two values, e.g. 0–3 belongs both to the blank suit (or 0 suit) and to the 3 suit. Naturally the doubles form an exception in that each double belongs to only one suit. In 42, the doubles are treated as an additional suit of doubles, so that, e.g., the double-six 6–6 belongs both to the 6 suit and the suit of doubles.