Bergen

Players and equipment

Two to four players and a double-six set of 28 tiles: every pairing of the numbers blank to six, with seven doubles among them. The spots on a tile are its pips, its two halves are its ends, and a double carries the same number on both. Bergen is scored while you play, so keep something to score on.

The deal

Shuffle the tiles face down and draw. Two players draw six tiles each, three or four draw five, and the rest stay face down as the boneyard. Stand your tiles on their edges so that only you can see them. Whoever holds the lowest double leads it; if nobody holds a double at all, everybody draws until one appears.

Play

Turns pass to the left. Add a tile to either end of the single line, matching the number showing at that end: with a four at one end and a one at the other, any tile carrying a four or a one can be played, the matching end against the line and the other end facing out to become the new end. A double is laid across the line and plays like any other tile — the next tile on that end matches its number. Unable to play, draw from the boneyard until you can; once it is empty, pass. You may not pass while you hold a tile that fits.

What makes Bergen a different game from every other line game is that it is scored while you play rather than at the end of the hand. What you are hunting for is both ends of the line showing the same number, and you score the moment your tile makes it so; make one of those ends a double and you score more.

The hand ends when somebody plays their last tile, which is going out, or when nobody can play and the boneyard is empty, which is a blocked hand.

Scoring

Double header

2

Both ends of the line show the same number

Triple header

3

Both ends match and one of them is a double

Going out

2

Playing your last tile

Blocked

2

Fewest pips in hand once nobody can play

A header is scored by the player who creates it, at the moment they create it. One that survives to your next turn does not score again, so a line sitting on a double header is a line everybody else is trying to break. Where two players tie on the lightest hand in a blocked game, neither scores. Going out scores its two whatever the ends show, and a last tile that also makes a header scores both. Whether the opening double counts as a double header for the player who leads it is something tables disagree about; settle it before the first tile is drawn.

A worked hand

Three players, five tiles each, playing to 10. Alice holds the lowest double at the table and leads the 1-1; this table scores nothing for the lead.

Alice plays 5-4 against a five

Double header, 2

Both ends now show a four

Ben plays 3-6 against a three

Triple header, 3

Both ends show a six, one of them the 6-6

Cara plays 2-0 against the 2-2

Double header, 2

Both ends now show a blank

Alice plays 0-0 against a blank

Triple header, 3

Both ends blank, one of them the double

The 0-0 was Alice's last tile

2

Going out

The hand

12 points

Alice 7, Ben 3, Cara 2

Ben plays 1-4 on the double one and Cara plays 1-5 on its other side, so the ends read five and four. Alice plays the 5-4 against the five, the four faces out, both ends show a four, and she takes two. Ben plays 4-6, Cara lays the 6-6 across that end, and Alice plays 4-3 at the other. Ben plays the 3-6 against the three: both ends show a six and one of them is a double, three to Ben. Cara holds no six, draws the 6-2 and plays it on the 3-6, leaving a two beside the double six. Alice lays the 2-2 across the two — two doubles at the ends, no match, no score — and Ben plays 6-0 on the double six, so the ends read the double two and a blank. Cara plays 2-0 against the double two, both ends are blank, and she takes two. Alice lays the double blank across a blank end: a triple header for three, and it was her last tile, so two more for going out.

The totals build over the hands. In the first hand Ben made two double headers and went out, six in all, Cara made a triple header for three and Alice a double header for two. After the hand above the totals are Alice 9, Ben 9 and Cara 5, playing to 10 — and the next header may decide the game.

Ending

Play hands until somebody reaches the target: 15 points at two players, 10 at three or four. Because headers score as they are made, the line can be crossed in the middle of a hand. Keeping score on SquareScores, set the target when you launch the game and the app ends the match at the line.

Aim for the double header

The whole game is in the two ends of the line. Before you play, look at both ends and ask which tile in your hand makes them match. A tile carrying both of the numbers on show — the 4-1 when the ends read four and one — makes a double header whichever end you put it on. When no tile does it, the next best play leaves you a header to make next turn without leaving one for the player after you.

Watch what you leave

Every pairing of two numbers exists once in the set. When the ends read four and one, exactly one tile makes a header there, the 4-1, and you know where it is if it is on the table or in your hand. So the safe ends to leave are the ones whose connecting tile you have already seen; leave ends whose connecting tile is still out, and the player after you may be holding it.

Doubles are worth an extra point

A double at one end turns the next header into a triple, so a double is worth playing when the other end already shows its number, which is the triple header itself, or when you hold the tile that will match the other end to it next turn. Laid down with neither, it is an invitation to whoever holds the matching tile. Doubles are also the hardest tiles to place, and one held at a block counts its full pips against you.

The end of the hand

Going out is worth two, the same as a double header, and a last tile that makes a header scores both, so a player down to one or two tiles is the one to watch. When you hold tiles that cannot score, play the heavy ones: a blocked hand goes to the lightest hand, and the 6-6 is twelve pips against you at the count. Every tile drawn from the boneyard is one you may still be holding at the block, so when nothing scores, keep the ends on numbers you hold plenty of.

Fifteen for every table

Some tables play to 15 however many are at the table, rather than 15 for two and 10 for three or four, which makes a three- or four-handed game a hand or two longer.

Block Bergen

The boneyard is never touched. A player who cannot match either end knocks and passes, and the hand blocks as soon as nobody can play. Blocked hands are much more common, so the two points for the lightest hand matter more, and the tiles you are dealt are the tiles you finish with.

Leaving the last two

Many tables never draw the last two tiles of the boneyard. A player who cannot play draws until they can or until only two tiles remain, then passes, and a hand can block with two tiles still face down on the table.

Doubles decide a blocked hand

At some tables a blocked hand is not simply won by the fewest pips: a hand holding no doubles beats any hand holding one, and only when the players are level on that does the pip count decide.

Scoring the lead

Some tables score the opening double as a double header, two points to the player who leads it, on the grounds that both ends of the line show the same number from the first tile. Others start the scoring with the second tile.

How do you play Bergen dominoes?

Bergen is a line game with a double-six set: you add a tile to either end of a single line, matching the number showing, and draw from the boneyard when you cannot. What sets it apart is that you score during the hand, whenever your tile makes both ends of the line show the same number: two for a double header, three for a triple header when one of the matching ends is a double. Going out is worth two more, and the first to 15 with two players or 10 with three or four wins.

What is a double header in dominoes?

A double header is the two ends of the line showing the same number. In Bergen the player whose tile makes that happen scores two points at once, and only then: a double header left standing does not score again.

What is a triple header in Bergen?

A triple header is a double header where one of the matching ends is a double. If one end of the line is the 6-6 and you play a tile that leaves a six showing at the other end, both ends show a six and one of them is a double, and you score three instead of two.

How many points do you play to in Bergen?

The usual line is 15 points for two players and 10 for three or four. Since headers score as they are made, a player can reach the line in the middle of a hand.

Does the first double score in Bergen?

Tables disagree. The opening double shows the same number at both ends, and some tables give the player who leads it two points for a double header; others count nothing for the lead and start scoring with the second tile. Agree it before the first hand.

What happens if nobody can play in Bergen?

Once the boneyard is empty and nobody can match either end, the hand is blocked. Everyone counts the pips left in their hand, and the player with the fewest scores two points. If two players are level on the fewest, neither scores. Doubles count their full pips, so the 6-6 is twelve.