The Basics of Domino
Domino is a game with a long history and many variations. It can be played alone or with two or more people. It involves arranging one or more domino pieces on the table so that their matching ends touch, and then placing other pieces on top of them. The result is a chain of tiles that gradually forms a snake-like line on the playing surface. Each domino has a number of dots on one side, called its pip count, and a blank or identically patterned other side. A domino with a single pip counts as a one; a domino with a double pip counts as a two. Each domino belongs to one of four suits: zero, three, five or six.
Dominos are usually made from bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl) or ivory with a contrasting color such as black or white inlaid or painted on the pips. Modern sets of dominoes are available in a variety of materials, including melamine and plastic. They are often color-coded to match the suits, and the pips are usually raised above the base of the domino to make them more easily identifiable.
Like playing cards, of which they are a variant, the dominoes have identifying marks on one face and are blank or identically patterned on the other face. Dominoes with different numbers on both faces are called aces; those with the same number on each face are called pairs. Each pair of dominoes belongs to a suit, and each suit contains a certain number of aces and kings.
A player wins by putting all his or her dominoes down in the correct order. Then each player scores points for every multiple of five in his or her opponent’s dominoes that remain in play. In a partnership game, the team with the most points wins.
When a player can’t move a domino without disturbing the rest of the set, that domino is “on the rails,” and must remain in place until another tile matches its number and can be placed on it. This allows the players to build an elaborate sequence of tiles that can eventually collapse, often with a single nudge from one domino. Such sequences are the focus of domino shows, where builders construct mind-boggling arrays of hundreds or even thousands of dominoes that topple in careful sequence before a live audience.
Dominos can be used in a variety of games, from basic blocking and scoring to games of chance, such as solitaire and trick-taking. Some games of this type were once popular to circumvent religious prohibitions against gambling, and they still have a following among some groups of players. There are also domino shows, in which builders compete to create the most complex and imaginative domino effects or reactions before a live audience of fans. Some of these performers are also able to use their dominoes in artistic installations that incorporate lighting, music and other elements.
Domino is a game with a long history and many variations. It can be played alone or with two or more people. It involves arranging one or more domino pieces on the table so that their matching ends touch, and then placing other pieces on top of them. The result is a chain of tiles that gradually forms a snake-like line on the playing surface. Each domino has a number of dots on one side, called its pip count, and a blank or identically patterned other side. A domino with a single pip counts as a one; a domino with a double pip counts as a two. Each domino belongs to one of four suits: zero, three, five or six. Dominos are usually made from bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl) or ivory with a contrasting color such as black or white inlaid or painted on the pips. Modern sets of dominoes are available in a variety of materials, including melamine and plastic. They are often color-coded to match the suits, and the pips are usually raised above the base of the domino to make them more easily identifiable. Like playing cards, of which they are a variant, the dominoes have identifying marks on one face and are blank or identically patterned on the other face. Dominoes with different numbers on both faces are called aces; those with the same number on each face are called pairs. Each pair of dominoes belongs to a suit, and each suit contains a certain number of aces and kings. A player wins by putting all his or her dominoes down in the correct order. Then each player scores points for every multiple of five in his or her opponent’s dominoes that remain in play. In a partnership game, the team with the most points wins. When a player can’t move a domino without disturbing the rest of the set, that domino is “on the rails,” and must remain in place until another tile matches its number and can be placed on it. This allows the players to build an elaborate sequence of tiles that can eventually collapse, often with a single nudge from one domino. Such sequences are the focus of domino shows, where builders construct mind-boggling arrays of hundreds or even thousands of dominoes that topple in careful sequence before a live audience. Dominos can be used in a variety of games, from basic blocking and scoring to games of chance, such as solitaire and trick-taking. Some games of this type were once popular to circumvent religious prohibitions against gambling, and they still have a following among some groups of players. There are also domino shows, in which builders compete to create the most complex and imaginative domino effects or reactions before a live audience of fans. Some of these performers are also able to use their dominoes in artistic installations that incorporate lighting, music and other elements.