American Sniff

American Sniff is for two to four players, with partnerships at four. Score positive multiples of five from the open ends. The first double, the Sniff, keeps scoring through each uncovered branch side. Unplayed tiles reduce scores separately for each hand at round end.

Equipment and objective

Use one complete double-six set of 28 tiles. Scores are raw pip points. Be the first player or partnership to reach the target:

• 250 points with two players;
• 200 points with three players; or
• 200 points with four players.

You can record the score in any clear raw-point record. An optional paper tally gives each stroke a value of 5 points and builds a 50-point mark from a central large X and four surrounding small x marks.

Deal and lead

Mix all tiles face down. Deal 7 tiles to each player in a two-player game, 6 each in a three-player game, and 5 each in a four-player game. The remaining tiles form the boneyard. Keep hands private during play.

Choose the first leader by neutral lot; repeat among tied candidates if necessary. The leader may open with any tile. After a player dominoes, that player leads the next round. After a blocked round, choose the next leader by lot. Turns always move clockwise.

Play a tile

After the opening, play one tile by matching one of its halves to an open value. The other half normally becomes the new outer end.

All doubles are laid crosswise. A later double that is at an outer end counts both of its halves. Thus a terminal contributes 12. Once another tile is attached to it, it is internal and no longer contributes directly.

The Sniff

The first double played in a round is the one and only Sniff. This includes an opening double. It is a regular four-arm spinner, but its scoring is special:

1. Until both straight-through line sides have been continued, it is a terminal double and contributes both halves.
2. After both line sides are connected, the two branch arms become available. Each uncovered branch contributes one half of the Sniff's pip value.
3. Playing on one branch covers only that branch's contribution. The new tile's outer half counts normally, while the other uncovered Sniff branch continues to count.
4. Once both branches have been covered, the Sniff itself contributes nothing directly. Count the four outer ends as in ordinary All Fives.

For example, open with : the end total is 8. Add to one line side: the total is 14. Add to the other line side: both Sniff branch halves are exposed, so the total is 6 + 1 + 4 + 4 = 15; score 15 points. If then covers one branch, the total becomes 6 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 13: one Sniff half remains, not two.

No later double is a Sniff or spinner. It is simply a crosswise terminal double while it remains at an outer end.

Score a placement

After every placement, including the opening and a final tile, add the current scoring ends. If the total is a positive multiple of 5, score exactly that many raw points; otherwise score nothing. The example total of 15 scores 15 points immediately.

Draw, pass, and block

If you have a legal tile, you must play it. If not, draw one tile at a time from the boneyard until you draw a legal tile or the boneyard is empty. A drawn legal tile must be played immediately; you may not choose a different tile from your hand instead.

Pass only when you have no legal placement and the boneyard is empty. A round is blocked only when the boneyard is empty and nobody can make a legal placement.

End and settle a round

A player dominoes by placing the last tile from their hand. A round can also end blocked. In either case, total the pips in every player's remaining hand and round each physical hand independently to the nearest multiple of 5: 2 rounds to 0, while 3 rounds to 5.

Subtract each resulting non-zero debit from that player's score. In a four-player partnership game, debit each partner's hand separately from the shared partnership score; do not combine the partners' hands before rounding. A domino has a recorded finisher; a blocked round has no winner and no extra settlement award.

Win the match

The first player or partnership to reach the applicable target wins immediately after the scoring event that reaches it. There is no completed-round highest-score comparison and no continuation to resolve a tie.

Optional paper tally

One stroke records 5 raw points. A large central X and a small x in each of its four surrounding spaces form a 50-point symbol.

Source note

These rules follow the American crosswise Sniff form recorded by Pagat.