How to Play
Texas 42
Four players, two teams, 28 dominoes. If you've never played before, you're in the right place. Here's everything you need to sit down and play your first hand.
Partners & Teams
Four players sit around a table: North, South, East, West. North and South are a team. East and West are a team. Your partner sits directly across from you. You never show your tiles — everything is communicated through how you play.
Trump
Before play starts, the winning bidder names a trump suit — Sixes, Fours, Doubles, etc. Every domino showing that number becomes trump. Trump beats every other suit in the game. The double of the trump suit — the 6-6 if Sixes are trump — is the highest domino in the hand. Nothing beats it.
Marks & Bidding
There are 42 marks available each hand: 7 tricks (1 mark each) plus the 5 count dominoes (5 or 10 marks each). Before play, players bid how many marks their team will take. The highest bidder picks trump and has to make good on their bid.
The 5 Count Dominoes
35 of the 42 marks come from just five dominoes. Winning these — or stopping your opponents from winning them — is the heart of the game.
10 pts
Trump if Fives or Doubles are called
10 pts
Also trump if Sixes or Fours are trump
5 pts
Worth 5 marks
5 pts
Worth 5 marks
5 pts
Worth 5 marks
7 tricks × 1 mark each + 35 count marks = 42 total marks per hand
Playing a Trick
One player leads a domino. Everyone else plays one. Highest domino wins — with a few key rules.
Follow the led suit
If the led domino shows a 5, you must play any domino that also shows a 5 — even if it means giving up a good one. If you have no dominoes in that suit, you can play anything.
Highest domino in the led suit wins
The double of any suit is its highest domino. A 5-5 beats a 5-4, which beats a 5-3, and so on. If no one plays the led suit (everyone was out), the leader wins by default.
Trump beats everything else
If you can't follow suit, you can play a trump domino to steal the trick. The highest trump played wins — regardless of what suit was led. If multiple players trump in, the highest trump takes it.
Winner of a trick leads the next
After each trick, whoever won it plays first for the next one. The game lasts exactly 7 tricks — one per domino in each hand.
How Bidding Works
Before any tiles are played, each team stakes a claim on how many marks they'll win.
Minimum bid is 30
The lowest you can bid is 30 marks. If no one wants to bid, the last player is forced to bid 30 with whatever they're holding. Simulation shows forced 30 bids only make it 53% of the time — if you're defending, play aggressively.
Maximum is 42
Bidding 42 means your team will win every single mark in the hand — all 7 tricks and all 5 count dominoes. You need the double of trump to even attempt it.
Highest bid wins
Players take turns bidding higher or passing. The highest bidder names trump and leads the first trick. Your opponents need to set you — stop you from reaching your bid.
Make it or get set
If the bidding team reaches their bid, they score those marks. If they fall short, they're "set" — the opposing team scores the bid value instead. Don't overbid.
Watch a Hand Play Out
You bid 33 with Fives as trump. Step through all 7 tricks and see the key rules in action.
Live Walkthrough · Trick 1 of 7
Trick 1 — Trump following
Score
You & Andrew 16 · Travis & James 0
When a trump tile is led, every player who holds a trump must play one — no exceptions.
You bid 33 with Fives as trump and lead the 5-5 — the double of trump, the highest domino in the game. Because Fives are trump, every player holding a five must follow. They all do: Travis plays the 5-3, Andrew the 5-1, and James gives up the 5-0 — a 5-point count domino the rules forced him to play. You win the trick and collect 16 marks: 10 for the 5-5 and 5 for the 5-0.
You wins · +16 marks to you & Andrew
Ready to play your first hand?
Play a full hand against AI opponents — with live coaching on every trick.