Gaple
How to play Gaple
Gaple is Indonesia's best-loved domino game — a fixture of warungs, street corners and family gatherings across the archipelago. It's a block game played with the standard double-six set: there's no drawing pile, so once the tiles are dealt, what you hold is what you've got. The skill is in reading the board, counting what's been played, and squeezing out your awkward tiles before you get stuck. Play against the bots, or head online to take on real people.
Play Gaple online with friends
Choose Play online to be matched with other players in real time, or share a private invite link and gather three friends around the board. It plays right in your browser — no account and no app. The server deals the tiles, checks every match, and keeps all four hands in sync.
The deal
Four players, the 28 tiles of a double-six set dealt out seven each — nothing left over. Whoever holds the double-six (6-6) opens the first round by laying it down. In later rounds the previous winner opens with any tile they like.
Your turn
- Play a tile that matches one of the two open ends of the line. If a tile fits both ends, you choose which side to add it to.
- If none of your tiles fits, you must pass — there is no drawing in Gaple.
- The line grows from both ends; doubles are laid in line (no spinners here).
Ending a round
A round ends the moment a player lays down their last tile — they shout "gaple!" and win. If everyone passes in turn and no one can move, the round is blocked: the player with the fewest pips left in hand wins instead.
Scoring
The round's winner scores the total pips remaining in the other three players' hands — so a big win is one that catches everyone else holding heavy tiles. The first player to reach 100 points wins the match.
Strategy
Shed your heavy tiles early — a hand full of sixes and doubles is a fast way to lose a blocked round. Keep a tile for as many numbers as you can so you're never forced to pass, and watch which numbers keep getting played: if both ends show a six and most sixes are down, you can guess who's about to be stuck. Late in a round, count the pips — sometimes blocking the game while you hold the lightest hand beats chasing the win. Tap a highlighted tile to play it, choose an end when it fits both, and N starts a new game.