Printable Dominoes: Free Double-12 Set PDF (With Pips)

You don’t need real dominoes to play Mexican Train tonight. This is a free printable domino set with the pips already printed — four pages that make a complete double-12 set of 91 tiles, colour-coded exactly like the tiles in our online game. Print it on cardstock, cut along the borders, and you have a set that plays a full 13-round game.

The pages are ordered so you can stop early: page 1 on its own is a full double-6 set, pages 1–2 make a double-9 set, and all four make the double-12 set that Mexican Train uses.

What’s in the Download?

Four letter-size pages (they print on A4 too), 28 tiles per page:

Because the sheets nest, nothing is wasted if you only need a small set — and you can always print pages 2 through 4 later to upgrade. Page 2 includes one extra blank tile as a spare, and page 4 has a cutting guide plus a one-page Mexican Train quick start printed alongside the last eight tiles.

Which Domino Set Do I Need?

For Mexican Train, the answer is almost always double-12. That’s the set the game is built around: 13 rounds, one for each engine from the 12-12 down to the double blank, and 91 tiles is enough for eight players to draw a full hand with a boneyard left over. A double-9 set works fine for smaller groups and shortens the game to 10 rounds.

For everything else — block dominoes and other variations, Muggins, Fives-and-Threes, matching games with kids — a double-6 set is the traditional choice, and page 1 covers it by itself.

Colour-Coded Pips, Same as the Online Game

Every value gets its own pip colour — 1 is blue, 2 green, 3 pink, 4 gold, 5 deep blue, and on up to the near-black 12 — the same colour coding physical double-12 sets use, and the same colours the tiles use in our online Mexican Train game. Once you’ve played a round either way, you stop counting dots: an 11 is just brown.

That matters more than it sounds at double-12 scale. A hand of tiles carrying 9, 11 and 12 halves is a lot of pips to read one dot at a time, and colour turns it into a glance.

How Are the High-Value Tiles Laid Out?

Pips above six don’t fit a die face, so this set uses the arrangement most double-9 and double-12 sets use: two outer columns of pips with a centre column between them.

• 7 is 3-1-3, 8 is 3-2-3, 9 is 3-3-3
• 10 is 4-2-4, 11 is 4-3-4, 12 is 4-4-4 (a clean 3 × 4 grid)

Values are read by column, so a half is legible at arm’s length across a table. Halves worth zero are printed blank, exactly like a real set.

Do Paper Dominoes Really Play?

Yes — and Mexican Train is the game they suit best, because everything happens flat on the table. The engine goes in the centre, trains build outward, doubles lie crossways. Nothing has to stand on edge, so the one thing paper tiles can’t do never comes up.

The practical differences are small and easy to handle:

• Your hand. Keep it face-down in front of you and lift tiles to look, or fold a spare strip of cardstock lengthwise into a rack. Plenty of boxed sets need a rack too.
• Shuffling. Paper tiles don’t slide as freely as ivory ones. Push them around face-down in a loose pile rather than swirling them — same result, no flipping.
• Weight. Cardstock tiles can drift if someone bumps the table. Playing on a cloth or a placemat stops it completely.

Everything about the rules and scoring is identical, and the printed pip colours match the online game, so switching between paper and screen mid-week doesn’t feel like two different games.

Printing Tips That Actually Matter

Use cardstock. This is the one that decides whether your set feels like dominoes or like paper scraps. 65 lb (176 gsm) or heavier keeps the pips from ghosting through when tiles are face-down — with regular copy paper, anyone across the table can read your hand from the back. Heavier 110 lb stock is better still if your printer takes it.

Print in colour at 100% scale. Turn off “fit to page” or “shrink to fit” so every sheet cuts to the same tile size. Colour is what makes the high values readable at a glance; a greyscale print still works, since each value has its own pip arrangement as well as its own colour. The tile faces are left white on purpose — the ink goes into the pips, not into tinting 91 tiles.

Cut with a trimmer if you have one. A paper trimmer or guillotine gives the straight edges that make tiles stack and shuffle properly; scissors work but tend to wander.

Laminate for repeat use. For a classroom, a senior centre or anywhere the set will be handled by a lot of people, laminating after you cut roughly triples its life. A zip bag keeps paper tiles from warping between game nights.

Want to fill in your own pips, or add spares to a set you already own? The blank dominoes template uses the same tile size, so the two downloads shuffle together.

Ready to Play?

Cut your set, then grab the printable score sheet for the bookkeeping and the large-print rules if anyone at the table wants a reference they can actually read. New to the game? The rules and scoring guide cover it from first deal to final tally.

No printer, or no cardstock in the house? Our free online Mexican Train game uses a full double-12 set, deals and scores every round for you, and runs in your browser — solo against bots or pass-and-play with up to 4 players.