The game of dominoes is the national game of Cuba. For many, the game is a daily social event that combines competition with camaraderie.

How to play Cuban Dominoes

A block-type domino game for two to four players, using a Double-Nine domino set and a score-sheet.  This Cuban game is played in the same way as the standard Block game with some exceptions.

Play:

The dominoes are shuffled, facedown, then each player draws 10 tiles that only they can look at.  Any remaining dominoes are set aside and not used in further play.

The lead player holding the heaviest double, sets it down and then players in turn lay tiles onto the open ends of the domino layout with same-number adjacent to same-number (doubles placed horizontally onto ends, allowing play to branch four ways, and known as a spinner).  Order of play goes anticlockwise in Cuban Dominoes.

Once a player has dominoed by setting their last tile, or the game is blocked with no player able to set a tile, the round is over and the player who dominoed or has the lowest total of pips left in their hand, is the winner of that round.  The winner of a round then scores the total number of pips on all the other players’ dominoes, minus the total number of pips on any remaining dominoes in their hand.

A number of rounds are played and the first player to score a set total (usually 100 points), wins the game.  

Dominoes available at Firmin Cigars Online store – https://firmincigars.com.au/product-category/dominoes-game-cuba/?v=13b249c5dfa9