Above forty-two
The special contracts
Once a bid passes 42 you're bidding marks, and marks let you name something other than an ordinary trump hand. This is where 42 stops resembling any other game, and where a beginner who tries it too early gets taken apart.
Read this first
These contracts vary more from table to table than anything else in 42: what they cost, whether they're allowed at all, and how doubles behave inside them. Everything below is the common form. Ask before the first hand, not during it.
Usually 1 mark and up
Nel-O
You bid to lose. There's no trump, your partner turns their dominoes face down and sits the hand out entirely, and you must lose all seven tricks playing alone against both opponents. Win a single trick and you're set.
It sounds like a novelty and it isn't. A hand with no doubles and nothing but low tiles is worthless in a normal contract and close to unbeatable in Nel-O. Learning to spot one is a real edge.
The doubles question
Because there's no trump, somebody has to decide what a double even is. Three conventions are common, and a table picks one and sticks with it:
High in their suit
The 4-4 is the top four. The usual default, and the one that makes holding doubles most dangerous.
Low in their suit
The 4-4 sits below the 4-0. Makes doubles harmless, and makes Nel-O much easier to bid.
Their own suit
The seven doubles form a separate eighth suit. Lead a double and everyone must follow with a double if they hold one.
Some tables price Nel-O at two marks rather than one, on the grounds that a good Nel-O hand is easier to make than a good 42 hand. Both are defensible. Just settle it early.
Usually 1 mark and up
Sevens
No trump, no following suit, and the ordinary ranking is thrown out. Every trick is won by whichever domino's pips add up closest to seven. Your side has to win all seven tricks.
The perfect sevens
Only three dominoes in the set total exactly seven. Everything else is judged by how far off it is: the 6-2 and the 5-1 are both one away, the 6-6 is five away and loses to almost anything. When two dominoes are equally close, the one played first takes the trick, so leading matters enormously.
The bid is really a claim about distribution: you need a hand clustered tightly around seven, and you need your partner's hand not to sabotage you, which you can't know. It's the most gambling-flavoured contract in the game.
Minimum 4 marks
Plunge
You must be holding at least four doubles. You bid at least four marks, and then you do something that happens nowhere else in the game: you hand the decision to your partner. They name trump and they lead. Your side must take all seven tricks.
Four doubles, so it's legal. Whether it's wise depends entirely on a partner who has to guess which suit you can support, with no communication beyond the bid itself. Bidding Plunge is an act of faith, and when it comes off it's the best moment in the game.
Usually minimum 2 or 3 marks
Splash
The smaller sibling. At least three doubles instead of four, a lower minimum bid, and otherwise identical: partner names trump, partner leads, your side takes all seven or you're set.
Whether Splash costs two marks or three is one of the most commonly disputed points in the game. Some tables don't allow it at all.
Also on the menu
The no-trump calls
Doubles as trump
The seven doubles become their own suit and outrank everything. A hand with four or five doubles that's short everywhere else can be worth a real bid this way. Follow suit as normal; a double always beats a non-double.
Follow me / no trump
No trump at all. Highest domino of the suit led wins, and doubles are high or low by prior agreement. A hand of unbeatable off-suit tops can make this comfortably.
Both are ordinary point contracts at some tables and mark contracts at others. You know what to do: ask.
At a glance
Quick reference
| Contract | Requirement | Typical cost | You must |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nel-O | None | 1 to 2 marks | Lose all 7, alone |
| Sevens | None | 1+ marks | Win all 7 |
| Splash | 3 doubles | 2 to 3 marks | Win all 7; partner calls trump |
| Plunge | 4 doubles | 4+ marks | Win all 7; partner calls trump |
| Doubles trump | None | Varies | Make your bid |
| Follow me | None | Varies | Make your bid |
Treat the cost column as a starting point for the conversation rather than an answer. There is no single authority every table agrees on.