Most games finish on a round number. Fives and Threes finishes on 61, 121, 181 or 241, and each of those is one more than a multiple of 60. The pattern comes from the board pub players commonly use to keep a running score: the cribbage board. Once you know how the board is laid out, the targets stop looking odd, and you can work out how long a match must take.
Why the targets end in 1
A cribbage board gives each player a track of holes and two pegs. The track is 60 holes long, plus one final hole at the end, the game hole. The full board is two laps: out along one side and back along the other, 120 holes in all, with the 121st being the game hole. A shorter board has a single lap, 60 holes and the game hole. Cribbage is played to 121 on the long board and to 61 on the short one.
Pub players scoring this game on the same board took its finish lines too. The score you need is the number of holes in the track, so each extra lap adds 60:
- One lap: 60 + 1 = 61.
- Two laps: 120 + 1 = 121.
- Three laps: 180 + 1 = 181.
- Four laps: 240 + 1 = 241.
The extra one is the game hole, so a player finishing on exactly the last hole and a player running past it both win. The four targets in Fives and Threes Dominoes are exactly this list: its Play listing says you can choose a target of 61, 121, 181 or 241 points.
How the two pegs work
Each player has two pegs. The back peg sits on the previous score and the front peg moves to the new one; on the next score the back peg jumps over the front one. After every play the two pegs sit side by side as a record of the last score, so a disputed total can be checked: the gap between the pegs should equal the points just claimed. That is why the board suited a game with a score after nearly every turn, and why the points per play in Fives and Threes stay small. Each score is a few holes, never a long jump.
What each target asks of you
The most a single play can score is 8, which comes from a total of 15 (5 for the threes plus 3 for the fives). The scoring rule is set out in how Fives and Threes scoring works. Divide each target by 8 and round up, and you get the fewest scoring plays that could possibly win:
| Target | Cribbage laps | Target ÷ 8 | Fewest plays |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 1 | 7.625 | 8 |
| 121 | 2 | 15.125 | 16 |
| 181 | 3 | 22.625 | 23 |
| 241 | 4 | 30.125 | 31 |
Check the first row: 7 plays of 8 make 56, which falls short of 61, and 8 plays make 64. Check the second: 15 plays make 120, one short of 121, so a sixteenth is needed. The same near miss happens at 241, where 30 plays make 240. Because every target is one above a multiple of 60, and 120 and 240 are also multiples of 8, the 121 and 241 targets sit just one point past a run of perfect plays.
Why real matches run longer
The 8 is a ceiling. Only a total of 15 pays it, and the next best is 6, from a total of 18, which needs a double at an end. A total of 9 pays 3, and 3, 5 and 10 pay 1 or 2. The full list is in every scoring total, 3 to 20. Plays that score nothing are common, and they are why the number of turns in a match is well above the figures above, not equal to them.
Work it through at a modest pace. A player averaging 2 points a play needs 31 plays to reach 61, since 30 plays make 60, one short. At 121 the same pace needs 61 plays. The first figure is already more plays than one hand holds, so a match to 61 spans several hands. The Play listing lets you start with 6, 7, 8 or 9 tiles per player, and a bigger starting hand means fewer hands to reach the same target.
Choosing a target to practise
A short target makes each individual score matter more: at 61, one 8-point play is over 13 per cent of the match (8 ÷ 61 is 0.131). At 241 the same play is 3.3 per cent (8 ÷ 241 is 0.033), so the luck of one tile evens out and steady play counts for more. If you want to practise reading the open ends and counting totals, the short target gives you quick feedback. If you want to test whether a habit of blocking or hoarding the 15 pays over time, the long one does.
The going-out bonus can be switched on or off in the same setup screen, which changes how a hand ends but not the length of the track. For how to take the best score from the ends in front of you, see why 15 is the best total.
Fives and Threes Dominoes lets you play solo against a computer opponent on Casual or Competitive, to a target of 61, 121, 181 or 241 points, with 6, 7, 8 or 9 tiles per player and the going-out bonus on or off. The table shows the open-end totals and the points scored after each move. There are no adverts or in-app purchases, and optional match points are in-game only with no cash value.