Dominican domino rules
Dominican Domino Penalties
The best-known foul at a Dominican table is passing while holding a tile that plays. How much it costs depends on the table. Here is what the sources say.
4 min read
Published July 17, 2026
Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer
Short answer
The best-known foul is passing while holding a tile that plays: pasar con ficha. Tables punish it, and how much depends on the table. Two published Dominican tournaments charged it 50 and 30 points. In tournament play (FID rules), it is a yellow card worth 40% of the target.
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At street tables there is no referee, and each table sets its own penalties. Agree on them before the first hand. In tournaments, the published rules set them.
01.
Pasar con ficha: passing with a tile that plays
Saying 'paso' while holding a tile that fits is the foul every Dominican player knows. An El Inmobiliario feature on the tradition puts it in its title: 'aquí no se pasa con fichas'. The linguist Roberto Guzmán, writing in Acento, notes that 'pasar con ficha' also means playing dumb.
Tables punish it, and how much depends on the table. In Wikipedia en español's account of Dominican domino, the opponents get the points of every tile played after that pass. In tournament play (FID rules), passing with a tile is a yellow card worth 40% of the target.
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A false pass gives the whole table wrong information.
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The size of the penalty depends on the table.
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In FichaFlow you can never pass with a playable ficha, so the foul cannot happen.
02.
What two published Dominican tournaments charged
The rules of the 2019 Copa Alcaldía de Santiago, printed by Momento Deportivo RD, took 50 points from the pair that passed with a tile and gave 50 to the other pair.
A 2025 community tournament in La Guáyiga, announced by its municipal board, gave 30 points to the other team for passing with tiles, for opening or playing out of turn, and for a 'chivo', a tile that does not fit. Its rules also said: 'Si levantas ficha y vas, debes jugarla'.
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Santiago 2019: pasar con ficha, minus 50 for the guilty pair and plus 50 for the other.
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La Guáyiga 2025: plus 30 to the other team for pasar con fichas, out-of-turn play or a chivo.
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Each is one event's rules, not a rule for every table.
03.
Shown and touched tiles
No source we found sets a street rule for a tile shown by accident. Tables differ, so agree before you play.
In tournament play (FID rules), a tile that is seen must be played at the first chance (Art. 75), and a touched tile is a played tile (Art. 77). La Guáyiga's 2025 rules said the same in their own words: if you lift a tile and go, you must play it.
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Street tables: agree on it before the first hand.
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In tournament play: a seen tile is played at the first chance.
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In tournament play: a touched tile is a played tile.
04.
Señas: where partner play crosses the line
Partners talk through the tiles they play. Roberto Guzmán writes in Acento that players watch that their opponents do not make señas, and that when money is on the table they keep people away so no seña goes unnoticed. He also quotes the unwritten rule 'los mirones son de cera': onlookers do not give opinions.
In tournament play (FID rules), players must stay silent, keep their hands under the table and make no gestures during a hand (Art. 70-73).
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Information travels through the tiles played, not around them.
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Street players watch for señas.
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In tournament play: silence and no gestures during a hand.
Bring this to the table
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At a Dominican table you don't pass holding a tile: aquí no se pasa con fichas.
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The penalty depends on the table. Agree on it before the first hand.
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Players watch that nobody makes señas. In tournament play, silence and no gestures are the rule.
Questions from the table
What happens if you pass with a playable tile?
It depends on the table. In Wikipedia en español's account, the opponents get the points of every tile played after that pass. The 2019 Santiago tournament charged 50 and La Guáyiga's 2025 tournament 30. FichaFlow checks every pass, so the foul cannot happen online.
What is the penalty for an exposed tile?
It depends on the table; agree before you play. In tournament play (FID rules), a tile that is seen must be played at the first chance.
Are hand signals allowed between partners?
No. Dominican players watch that nobody makes señas, and in tournament play (FID rules) players must stay silent and make no gestures during a hand.
Where this comes from
Want to check the details? These are the references we used.
- Dominó (De palabra en palabra, Roberto Guzmán)
Acento · Accessed October 15, 2026
Linguist Roberto Guzmán on 'pasar con ficha' as a saying, players watching for señas, and 'los mirones son de cera'.
- La tradición del dominó: Porque aquí no se pasa con fichas
El Inmobiliario · Accessed October 15, 2026
Dominican feature whose title states the rule: you don't pass holding a tile.
- Dominó (Dominó de República Dominicana)
Wikipedia en español · Accessed October 15, 2026
Account of the penalty for passing with a tile: opponents get the points of every tile after that pass.
- Alcaldía de Santiago anuncia torneo de Dominó
Momento Deportivo RD · Accessed October 15, 2026
Rules of the 2019 Santiago tournament: passing with a tile, minus 50 and plus 50.
- ¡Gran Torneo de Dominó Regular 3/2!
Junta del Distrito Municipal La Guáyiga · Accessed October 15, 2026
Rules of a 2025 community tournament: plus 30 to the other team for passing with tiles, out-of-turn play and a chivo.
- Reglamento
Federación Internacional de Dominó · Accessed October 15, 2026
Tournament rules only: conduct (Art. 70-73), seen and touched tiles (Art. 75, 77), passing with a tile (Art. 81).
