Blocked-hand scoring
How to Score a Tranque
A tranque is a blocked hand, not automatically an extra bonus. Published Dominican rules settle it 'con el de abajo': the blocker against the player on his right. FichaFlow’s Tranque bonus defaults to 0.
3 min read
Published October 17, 2025
Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer
How to Score a Tranque in Dominican Domino
A tranque is a blocked hand, not automatically an extra bonus. Decide who wins the block, how ties work, and whose pips count before playing. Published Dominican rules compare the blocker with the player on his right ('con el de abajo'), and so does FichaFlow. FichaFlow’s Tranque bonus defaults to 0.
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Nobody can play and the hand is stuck. Now the table has to decide who won the block and which pips count. FichaFlow scores the hand, but starts the separate Tranque bonus at 0.
01.
Con el de abajo: blocker versus next player
Trancar is closing the game so the tantos get counted, as the linguist Roberto Guzmán explains in Acento. Published Dominican rules then compare the blocker with the player on his right, the next in turn: 'el tranque es con el de abajo' in the 2019 Santiago tournament rules, 'se tranca con el jugador de abajo' in the 2025 La Guáyiga tournament rules, and 'tranquar con el de abajo' in a DR1 guide. Wikipedia's account of Dominican domino calls it the patio rule.
FichaFlow uses it by default. Compare the remaining pips of the player who placed the blocking tile with those of the next player. The lower hand wins; a tie favors the blocker. The winning team receives all pips left in all hands.
02.
A complete example
A blocks with 8 pips left. B, next in turn, holds 11; C holds 7 and D holds 14. A wins the comparison and A’s team scores 8 + 11 + 7 + 14 = 40. There is no extra Tranque bonus by default.
03.
Pair-total rules give different answers
Other tables compare each pair's combined pips, and the pair with fewer points wins, according to The Bronx Journal and Wikipedia's account of Dominican domino. Wikipedia's 'regla general' gives a tie to the pair that opened the hand; Pagat scores nothing for a tie.
In tournament play (FID rules), compare both partners’ combined pips; a tied total is a drawn hand. A competition’s published regulation decides, so agree on the rule before the first hand.
04.
An optional award is separate
A table can choose an additional Tranque award in settings. Keep that custom amount separate from the ordinary blocked-hand pip score.
Bring this to the table
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A tranque is a blocked hand, not automatically an extra bonus. Decide who wins the block, how ties work, and whose pips count before playing. FichaFlow’s Tranque bonus defaults to 0.
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Con el de abajo: compare the remaining pips of the player who placed the blocking tile with those of the next player, on his right. In FichaFlow the lower hand wins, a tie favors the blocker, and the winning team receives all pips left in all hands.
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Other tables give the tranque to the pair with fewer points; in tournament play (FID rules), pair totals decide and a tie is a drawn hand.
Questions from the table
Does the blocker always win?
No. Under FichaFlow’s default, the blocker must have fewer or equal pips compared with the next player.
Does Tranque mean +25?
No. FichaFlow defaults to 0 extra; the winning hand still receives its pip score.
Which tranque rule is the Dominican one?
Both appear. The published Dominican rules we found block 'con el de abajo', the blocker against the player on his right; other tables compare pair totals. Agree on it before the first hand.
Where this comes from
Want to check the details? These are the references we used.
- Tranque (De palabra en palabra), by Roberto Guzmán
Acento · Accessed October 15, 2026
Linguist Roberto Guzmán on tranque and trancar: closing the game so the tantos are counted.
- Dominó (De palabra en palabra), by Roberto Guzmán
Acento · Accessed October 15, 2026
Trancar: closing the game on purpose to count the tantos.
- Alcaldía de Santiago anuncia torneo de Dominó
Momento Deportivo RD · Accessed October 15, 2026
One event's rules (Santiago 2019): 'el tranque es con el de abajo'.
- ¡Gran Torneo de Dominó Regular 3/2!
Junta del Distrito Municipal La Guáyiga · Accessed October 15, 2026
One event's rules (La Guáyiga 2025): 'se tranca con el jugador de abajo'.
- 25, 50, Capicua! Dominoes and the Dominican Republic
DR1 · Accessed October 15, 2026
Guide: the blocker shows his tiles to the player on his right, 'tranquar con el de abajo'.
- Dominó: Dominó de República Dominicana
Wikipedia en español · Accessed October 15, 2026
Patio rule (blocker against the next player) and regla general (pair with fewer points, tie to the opening pair).
- A Return to the Domino Table
The Bronx Journal · Accessed October 15, 2026
Washington Heights: in a tranque the pair with fewer points wins.
- Partnership Dominoes
Pagat · Accessed October 15, 2026
Blocked game: the side with fewer points wins, and a tie scores nothing.
- Reglamento FID 2024, artículos 57–58
Federación Internacional de Dominó · Accessed October 15, 2026
Tournament contrast only: pair totals decide a tranque, and a tie is a drawn hand.
