How to Play Moon (Domino Game)

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Moon is a simple trick-taking domino game for 3 or 4 players, although 3 is better. It was popular in Texas and is thought of as a simple variant of Texas 42.

Game Information

  • Players: 3 or 4
  • Domino Type Needed: Western
  • Dominos Needed: Double 6
  • Type: Trick-Taking
  • Game Length: <5-10mins
Method 1
Method 1 of 4:

Method 1: 3-player Moon

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  1. The tiles are divided into 7 suits; 0s, 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s. The double is the highest tile in the suit, so for the 2 suit, the order is 2-2, 2-6, 2-5, 2-4, 2-3 and 2-1, highest to lowest.
  2. The remaining tile is placed face down on the middle of the table.
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  3. The first bidder is determined and then the bidding will go round in a clockwise direction.
    • The bids can be "pass" (no bid), a number between 4 and 7, or 21. Each number bid must be higher than the last (e.g. Player A bids 4, B bids 5, C bids 6). A bid of 21is known as shooting the moon, which is a bid to take all tricks. The bidding stops instantly at this point, and whoever bid 21 wins the auction.
    • The winner of the auction (the one with the highest bid) takes the tile from the middle and then discards one tile from his hand face down without showing it.
    • A number from zero to six: If zero is picked, there will only be one trump (0-0), otherwise there will be six.
    • Doubles: The trumps will be (highest to lowest): 6-6, 5-5, 4-4, 3-3, 2-2, 1-1 and 0-0.
    • No trump: There will be no trump.
    • If the tile played is a trump, the other players must attempt to play trumps as well. If a player doesn't have any trump tiles, they can play any tile.
    • If it isn't a trump, then the higher number on the domino played is the suit to be followed. Other players must attempt to play tiles with this suit. If a player can't follow the suit, they can play any tile.
  6. When anyone plays a trump, they highest trump wins the trick. If no trump is played, the highest ranked tile played wins the trick.
    • The winner of this trick stacks the three tiles of the trick face down in front of them and then leads any tile to the next trick.
    • The game continues like this until all the cards have been played.
  7. The game ends when someone reaches 21 points.
    • If a bid is successful (number of tricks won is more than bid, or if 21, all seven tricks are won), the bidder scores the amount of the bid. If they don't win, they lose that amount of points.
    • The other two players score one point for each trick won.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 4:

Method 2: 4-player Moon

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  1. They are shuffled face down and seven are given to each player.
  4. The bid is won if the total number of tricks won is equal to or more than the bid. In this case, the bidding team wins the number of tricks won. If they lose the bid, they lose the amount of the bet. The other team wins a point for each trick they have won.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 4:

3-player Moon Variations

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    • Some play that the bidder must choose the trumps before looking at the face down tile in the middle. After naming trumps the bidder takes the middle tile and discards the same or a different tile face down before leading to the first trick.
    • Some games score with Marks instead of points. If the bidder wins they score a mark, otherwise the others score a mark each. The first to 7 wins.
Method 4
Method 4 of 4:

4-player Moon Variations

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    • In some games, the minimum bid is 3, rather than 4. In other games, the minimum bid is 5.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How do I bid just doubles?
    Community Answer
    It's called "follow me." There are no trumps. If the bidding team loses the lead, the only way to get it back is to win a trick from the opposing team.
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  • Question
    To win, do I have to score exactly 21 or can I go over?
    Community Answer
    You can go over. If both teams (for 4 player) or two people (for 3 player) get out, the person/team who made their bid wins -- also called "Bidder goes out." For example, let's say team A has 18 and team B has 20. Team A makes their 4 bid, and has 22 points. Team B picks up the other 3 tricks and has 23 points, but since team A won their bid, they are the winner of the game even though they have fewer points.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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  • Question
    If a player's score is the negative, can that player shoot the moon?
    Community Answer
    No, you have to be positive in order to shoot the moon in this game.
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      Tips

      • Each tile can belong to one of two suits (except for doubles). However, in most hands one number is declared as trump. In this case, all tiles with that number are trumps and do not belong to the suit on the other side.
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      • Non-trump tiles that are not doubles belong to two suits. For example if you have the 5-3 tile but no other 5s or 3s and neither 5 nor 3 is trump, you are required to play your 5-3 if either the 3-2 (part of the 3 suit) or the 5-1 (part of the 5 suit) is led.
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      • If doubles are trump, doubles do not belong to any of the suits. For example, if the 4-2 is led, the highest tile of this suit is the 6-4 and this will win the trick unless someone trumps. The holder of the double 4 is not allowed to play it in this trick unless no other 4's are held, and in that case, the player is unable to follow suit and can play any tile - trumping with the double 4 or another trump or throwing away any other tile.
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      References

      1. http://www.pagat.com/tile/wdom/moon.html - Research source.

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