Train Rules

Bartlett-McGing Edition

Set Up

Locate at least 3 double dominoes and place them face down. Place the remaining tiles into a bag. One player shuffles the facedown tiles, then another chooses one and places it face-up in the center of the station.

For future rounds, ensure that only unplayed dominoes are selected to choose from.

Any remaining dominoes are placed into a bag and shuffled, and each player draws tiles to form their hands.

2-4 players: 15 dominoes
5-6 players: 12 dominoes
7-8 players: 10 dominos

First Turn

To start a new round, each player announces their largest domino that matches the station number (if they have one). The player with the largest domino goes first. For example, if the 12-12 domino is in the station, the player with the 12-11 domino, or the next largest 12- would go first.

If no players have any tiles matching the station number, all tiles (except the station tile) are returned to the bag, and all players re-draw their hands.

The first player starts their own train by playing a tile from their hand matching the value of the station (this does not have to be the tile that they announced at the beginning of the game) into one of the slots of the station facing them. On this turn only, the player may continue to play dominoes from their hand onto their train, matching the number of the previously placed domino, and closing any doubles played, until they are no longer able to match tiles. Playing multiple tiles in this way is only possible during the same turn that a player starts their own train. A player may not leave an open double on this turn.

Play then moves to the left, to the next player.

If the next player does not have a matching tile in their hand, they will draw a new tile from the bag and, if they can, play that tile instead. If the player cannot play the new tile, they will add it to their hand and their turn ends.

Each player's first turn must be spent attempting to start their own train. After each player has taken one turn, any player can start the Free Train on their turn. Players cannot start another player's train.

Continuing Play

On each player's turn, they will play a tile by placing it along one of the available train lines on the table. They can:

• Play a tile on their own train (or start one, if they have not yet done so — see above about starting a train with multiple tiles)
• Play a tile on the Free Train, if it has been started. If it has not yet been started, the player may start it by matching the station
• Play a tile on any public train on the table

After playing their tile (or if they cannot play after drawing a tile and placing their token [see Private to Public Trains]), play moves to the left, to the next player.

If a player is able to play a tile on their turn, they must play it. It is not possible to 'pass' or draw a tile instead of playing.

If a player is unable to play a tile and there are no tiles remaining in the bag, play moves to the next player.

Doubles

To play a double domino, place it perpendicular to the train line, and immediately follow it by placing another tile (matching the pip number) in the regular orientation to "close the double". This allows a player to play two dominoes in one turn.

If a player places a double domino and does not have another matching tile to "close" it, they will draw a new tile and play that tile if possible. If the new tile cannot be played, it is added to the player's hand, and that player places their token on the last tile in their train, turning it into a public train, and ending their turn.

If a player cannot "close the double" and their turn has ended, the next player must attempt to close the double themselves — they cannot play any other tiles. If they are unable to close the open double, they will draw a tile and play it (to close the double) if they can, otherwise they will add that tile to their hand and end their turn. The next player then must attempt to close the double themselves, and so on.

Players who are unable to close their own double must place their token on their train line [see Private to Public Trains], even if the double tile they placed was on a public train, or the Free Train. Following players do not have to place their token if they are unable to close the double left open by another player.

Private to Public Trains

If a player is unable to play any tiles on their turn, they will draw a tile and, if they can, will play that one instead. If the new tile cannot be played, it is added to the player's hand. The player then moves their token from the station to the last tile on their train, turning it into a public train. On following turns, other players may play their tiles along this train.

In a future turn, when a player is able to play on their own train line, they will then move their token back to the center, turning the public train back into a private train.

If a player's train is already public and they are unable to play the new tile they've drawn and added to their hand, play moves to the next player.

The Open Train is always public, and can be started or played on by any player. There can only be one Open Train during each round.

The End

The round ends as soon as any player plays the last remaining tile from their hand. No other tiles may be played (including if the last tile was an unclosed double).

Each player counts the dots/pips from the remaining tiles in their hand. The sum/total number of pips is that player's score for the round, which is recorded by the scorekeeper. The winner for that round (the player who played all of their tiles) has a score of 0.

The round may also end if all players are unable to play, and all tiles have been drawn from the draw pile.

Winning the game

A full game is 13 rounds, with each set of doubles played as the beginning 'station' for one round (12-12 through 0-0). Shorter games may be played, ending after any number of rounds when all players agree.

The player with the lowest total score (the sum of all rounds played) wins!

Using this site

To start a game, all players must be registered. Register any new players on the Players page, then start a new game.

Once a game has been created, the link to that game may be shared with all players or displayed on a large screen/scoreboard.

Choose one player to act as scorekeeper. They will click Scorekeeper at the bottom right of the game page to enable the game updating buttons. At the end of each round, this player will update the scores by inputting each player's individual score in the appropriate space for the round. The Scorekeeper will then update the scores by clicking Save. Players viewing the scoreboard view will see the updated scores within a few seconds.

At the end of the game, after saving the most recent scores, the Scorekeeper will click End Game to finish the game and record the winner.

Last updated July 26, 2025