The Boneyard
📋 What it is
The extra face-down tiles form the "boneyard". When you cannot play, you DRAW from it (or PASS if it is empty).
🗣️ Coach says
Not every game lets you draw, but many do. The leftover tiles sit face-down as the boneyard. Stuck? Draw a tile and try again; keep drawing until you can play or the boneyard runs dry, then you PASS. Knowing how many tiles are unseen (boneyard + opponents’ hands) is real probability thinking.
🧠 Memory hook
Can’t play → DRAW from the boneyard. Boneyard empty → PASS. Track how many tiles are still hidden.
😂 Giggle
Why did the player love the number five?
Because everything counted when it hit a multiple of five!
😲 Whoa!
If you count the tiles you can see (your hand + the layout), everything else is hidden — that count is exactly what card-counters and probability students do.
✅ Quick check: A double-six set has 28 tiles. You see your 7 and 5 on the table. How many are still hidden?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
16 tiles (28 − 7 − 5 = 16).
Every tile is either seen or hidden; subtract the seen ones from 28.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Count the tiles you can see in any layout, subtract from 28, and say how many are hidden. Guess before you subtract.