Eight real board positions from Big Six Fives. Add up the open ends before you open the reveal — then see exactly how the total is built, term by term.
Someone at the table is holding the 5-5 — the highest double dealt this hand. In Big Six Fives the highest double auto-plays, so it goes straight to the center and becomes the spinner. Nothing else has hit the board yet.
North and South are still locked — West and East don't both have a tile down yet.
Still in hand
The 5-5 hits the table and becomes the spinner. What does the board score the instant it lands?
Scores 10
A lone spinner with nothing attached is exposed on both sides, and an exposed spinner counts double its face value: 5 × 2 = 10. Ten is a positive multiple of five, so the opening play scores 10 before anyone has played a second tile.
Same situation, different hand: the highest double dealt this time is the 3-3. It auto-plays and becomes the spinner, alone in the middle of an empty board.
North and South are still locked — West and East don't both have a tile down yet.
Still in hand
The 3-3 opens the board as the spinner. What does it score?
Scores 0 — no points
Exposed spinner, so it still counts double: 3 × 2 = 6. Six is not a multiple of five, so this play scores nothing. Being a double doesn't guarantee points — the total still has to land on a multiple of five. This is the single most common source of "wait, why didn't that score" at the table.
The 6-6 opened as the spinner. West has just been covered with the 6-3 — East is still untouched.
North and South are still locked — West and East don't both have a tile down yet.
Still in hand
West reads 3, East is still open. With only one side of the spinner covered, what does the board score?
Scores 15
The spinner is only covered on one side, so it's still exposed and still counts double: 6 × 2 = 12. Add the open West end of 3 and the total is 12 + 3 = 15 — a multiple of five, so this play scores 15.
Continuing the last board: West already reads 3 off the 6-3. Now East gets covered too, with the 6-2.
Still in hand
Now both East and West have a tile on the spinner. What does the board score after the 6-2 lands on East?
Scores 5
The instant both West and East have a tile, the spinner is covered on both sides and stops counting entirely — its 12 points from the previous puzzle are gone for good. What's left is just the two open ends: West's 3 plus East's 2 = 5, which is a multiple of five, so this play scores 5. That's a 10-point swing from covering the spinner's second side, which is exactly why controlling when to close it off is a real strategic decision, not a detail.
The 1-1 opened as the spinner. West got covered with the 1-3, then East got covered with the 1-6 — closing the spinner off for good. Now the chain keeps growing off East: the 6-6 gets played there next.
Still in hand
The 6-6 lands on East, capping that end with a double. What does the board score now?
Scores 15
The spinner is covered on both sides, so it contributes nothing. West is a plain 3. East is now capped by the 6-6 double, and a double sitting at an open end counts its full face value: 6 × 2 = 12, not 6. Total: 3 + 12 = 15 — a multiple of five, scoring 15. Without the doubling rule this would only be 3 + 6 = 9, which pays nothing. That gap is exactly why doubles at the end are worth fighting to set up.
The 4-4 opened as the spinner. Only West has been played on — the 4-2. Nobody has touched East, North, or South yet.
North and South are still locked — West and East don't both have a tile down yet.
Still in hand
West reads 2 and East is still untouched. What does the board score, and can either player legally play off the top or bottom of the spinner right now?
Scores 10
Score: the spinner is only covered on one side, so it's still exposed and counts double — 4 × 2 = 8 — plus West's open 2, for 10. A multiple of five, so this scores 10. North and South: no. Those branches stay locked until BOTH West and East have a tile down. East hasn't been played on at all yet, so even a tile matching the spinner's 4 can't legally go on the top or bottom branch — it has to go on East first.
The 6-6 opened as the spinner. West got the 6-3, then East got the 6-1 — closing the spinner and unlocking North and South. North then got the 6-2, and South got the 6-4.
Still in hand
All four branches are live now: West 3, East 1, North 2, South 4. What's the board worth?
Scores 10
The spinner has been covered on both sides since East went down, so its 6 contributes nothing anymore — that's true no matter how many branches open up after that. What's left is just the four open ends: 3 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 10, a multiple of five. Score 10. A common mistake here is adding the spinner's 12 back in because "it's still on the board" — it is, but it stopped counting the moment both West and East were covered, and North/South opening up later doesn't bring it back.
The 2-2 opened as the spinner. West got the 2-5, East got the 2-0 — closing the spinner and unlocking North/South. North got the 2-3, and then the 3-3 landed on North right after it. South got the 2-4.
Still in hand
West reads 5, East reads 0, North is capped by the 3-3, South reads 4. What does the board score?
Scores 15
Spinner's covered on both sides, so it's out of the total. West gives 5, East gives 0. North is capped by the 3-3 double — full face value, so that's 3 × 2 = 6, not 3. South gives 4. Total: 5 + 0 + 6 + 4 = 15, a multiple of five — scores 15. The doubling rule isn't limited to tiles sitting directly on the spinner; it applies to whichever tile is currently at the open end of any branch, however far out it's grown.
Every one of these boards runs on the same scoring engine as the live tables — ranked, free tournaments, an ELO rating that remembers every hand you play.