Tonight, I learned how to play fives and threes dominoes, and I couldn’t have asked for a better setting: down the local pub, pint in hand, sitting across the table from Dad.
It wasn’t planned. Just one of those laid-back evenings where conversation flows easier than time, and someone pulls out a well-worn set of dominoes. I’d seen them before, but I’d never played properly – at least not like this.
“Right,” Dad said, sliding the dominoes across the table with a grin. “Time you learnt how to play fives and threes.”
I had no clue what he meant. I figured it was just matching numbers and hoping for the best. Turns out, there’s way more to it than that.
A Crash Course in the Pub
Fives and threes is a game of math, memory, and cheeky tactics. You don’t just play for the sake of finishing – you score points by making the open ends of the layout add up to a multiple of five or three. So if the open ends total 15, that’s 15 points. Six adds up to 6 points. And so on.
Dad didn’t rush the explanation. He laid it out simple and clear, pausing every so often to sip his pint and give me a chance to think it through.
I made mistakes – loads of them. Played a tile and missed an obvious scoring move. Forgot to block. Left a double open when I shouldn’t have. But he never made me feel daft. Just raised an eyebrow, gave a half-smile, and said, “You’ll learn.”
And I did – bit by bit.
A Proper Pub Lesson
There was something about learning it right there, surrounded by the background hum of conversations, the clink of glasses, and the smell of crisps and ale. It wasn’t just a game – it was a ritual. A passing-down of something older than it looks. Like darts, or pool, or your dad’s best pub story that somehow gets funnier every time.
By the end of the night, I wasn’t exactly a pro, but I did manage to score a few points on my own – even blocked Dad once, which got me a proper “Not bad, that” from him.
More Than Just Dominoes
What I loved most wasn’t just the game – though it’s definitely grown on me. It was the moment. Just me and Dad, trading tiles and stories, laughing over bad plays, and talking a bit of nonsense between turns.
It wasn’t just about numbers on a board. It was about spending time, learning something new, and sharing something old-school and timeless.
Ever learned a pub game from your dad (or tried fives and threes for the first time)? Let me know – and if you’ve got any tips, I’m all ears. Because one thing’s for sure: I’ll be back at that table soon, ready for a rematch.
And next time, I might even win.