How to play 42 (Texas 42) dominoes
Texas 42 is a trick-taking game for four players in two partnerships, played with a double-six set. Each player draws seven dominoes, the four players bid once each for the right to name trumps, and the hand is then played out as seven tricks. There are 42 points in every hand: one point for each of the seven tricks, plus 35 points carried on five specific dominoes, called count. The winning bidder must take at least as many points as they bid or the hand is scored against them.
Where the 42 points come from
Seven tricks are worth one point each. Five dominoes carry extra points, called count, worth 35 between them. Seven plus 35 is 42, which is where the game gets its name.
| Source | Each | How many | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| A trick won | 1 | 7 tricks | 7 |
| 5-0 (the five-blank) | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 4-1 (the four-ace) | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 3-2 (the trey-deuce) | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 6-4 (the six-four) | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| 5-5 (the double-five) | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Whole hand | 42 points | Hand total | 42 |
The count dominoes are the ones whose pips add to five or ten: 5-0, 4-1 and 3-2 each total five, and 6-4 and 5-5 each total ten. Nothing else in the set carries count, so the whole hand turns on five tiles and the seven tricks they can be captured in.
This is why a trick is worth taking even when it holds no count. Seven of the 42 points are the tricks themselves, and a bid of 30 or 31 is often made on tricks rather than on capturing the heavy dominoes.
The draw and the bidding
All 28 dominoes are drawn, seven to each of the four players, leaving nothing in the boneyard. Each player then bids exactly once, and the highest bidder names trumps.
Sit partners opposite
Four players in two partnerships, each player sitting between their two opponents. Turn to play passes to the left.
Shuffle and draw seven each
Shuffle the dominoes face down and each player draws seven. The whole set is dealt, so there is no boneyard and every domino is in somebody’s hand.
Bid once, starting left of the shuffler
Each player in turn makes one bid or passes. The lowest legal bid is 30 and the highest in points is 42. A player who has passed cannot bid again, and each bid must beat the one before it.
The winning bidder names trumps
The high bidder chooses one of the seven suits (blanks, ones, twos, threes, fours, fives or sixes) as trumps. Doubles-as-trumps and no-trump games are common agreed variations rather than the default.
The bidder leads the first trick
The bidder leads any domino. Everyone must follow suit if they can. The highest trump wins the trick, or if no trump was played, the highest domino of the suit led.
Score the hand
Add the tricks and count the bidding side took. If they reached their bid they score it; if they fell short they are set, and the opposing partnership scores the bid instead.
Bids above 42 are made in marks, where one mark is worth a full 42. A two-mark bid says you intend to take every point in the hand, and the opposing side only has to win a single point to set you.
Game is most often played to seven marks, or to 250 points where the score is kept in points rather than marks. Agree which before you start, because the two formats reward very different bidding.
How dominoes form suits
A domino belongs to the suit of its higher end, unless one of its ends is trumps, in which case it is a trump. The double of a suit is the highest domino in that suit.
Every domino has two ends and therefore two possible suits. The rule that settles it is trumps: if either end matches the trump suit, the domino is a trump and nothing else. The 6-3 is a three when threes are trumps, a six when sixes are trumps, and a six the rest of the time.
Within a suit the double is highest, then the domino with the next highest other end, down to the one paired with a blank. With fives as trumps the order runs 5-5, 6-5, 5-4, 5-3, 5-2, 5-1, 5-0.
The seven dominoes that contain no trump at all cannot be led into the trump suit, which is the constraint that makes the bidding a real decision. Counting how many trumps you hold before you bid is most of the skill in the game.
How many dominoes do you get in 42?
- Seven each. All 28 dominoes of a double-six set are drawn between the four players, so there is no boneyard and nothing is left face down.
What is the lowest bid in 42?
- Thirty. A bid of 30 says your partnership will take at least 30 of the 42 points in the hand. Each following bid must be higher, and a player who passes may not bid again.
Which dominoes are worth points in 42?
- Five of them. The 5-0, 4-1 and 3-2 are worth 5 points each, and the 6-4 and 5-5 are worth 10 points each, making 35. The seven tricks are worth 1 point each, bringing the hand to 42.
Can you play 42 with two or three players?
- Not as written. Texas 42 is built around four players in two partnerships and a 28-tile set that divides exactly seven ways each. Two- and three-player adaptations exist but change the draw, and none of them is standard.
What happens if the bidder does not make the bid?
- They are set. The opposing partnership scores the amount that was bid, and the bidding side scores nothing for the hand, regardless of how many points they actually took.