What is Domino?

Domino is a type of game that involves placing small blocks called dominoes on top of each other. Each domino has a numbered arrangement of dots, known as pips, on its face. Its other side is blank or resembles a die.

Domino art can be as simple or elaborate as you like. Hevesh often tests her largest installations before letting them fall. She also follows a few basic rules.

Origin

A domino is a game piece that can be used to play many different games. These include blocking and scoring games. They are one of the oldest tools for game play and have been around for millennia.

The dominoes that we know today originated in China around the 12th century. However, they evolved into their modern form in Europe during the early 18th century. The European version of the game differs from its Chinese counterpart by incorporating seven additional dominoes. Six of these represent the values attained from throwing a single die, while the seventh represents the blank or 0-0 combination.

The name of the game may have been derived from the Latin word dominus, meaning master. It may also have been influenced by the black markings that remind people of masquerade ball masks.

Rules

Before each game, a player shuffles the tiles face down on a flat playing surface and mixes them thoroughly by moving his hands. He then draws a hand of seven dominoes and, depending on the rules of the particular game being played, makes the first play.

Each player then takes turns placing a domino on either their own personal train (called a chickenfoot), or the public train, which can be added to at any time. If a player cannot play a tile from his own hand, he must draw a domino from the boneyard, or chickenyard, and mark it with a marker.

When the players are unable to place any more dominoes, they reveal their hands and the winner is declared. This game is generally played with two to four players.

Materials

Dominos are small, thumb-sized rectangular blocks that are marked with pips and are used in games of chance. They are usually twice as long as they are wide, and each side may feature a value from one to six or blank. A complete set consists of 28 dominoes.

Domino sets are often made of natural materials such as bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), or ivory, with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or painted on them. Some are made of a dark hardwood such as ebony, which makes them look more substantial.

In the 19th century, Bakelite was developed, and this became the material of choice for making domino racks and tiles until it was replaced by plastic derived from petroleum in the latter part of the 20th century. Modern mass-produced dominoes are typically made from plastic, metal, or wood.

Variations

There are many variations of domino games. Some of them use the same rules as other domino games while others are a little different. These variations can make the game more interesting for players.

In some games like muggins or matador the object is to match the ends of two adjacent dominos with each other. Then if the sum of the open ends of those dominoes is a multiple of five the player scores points.

One of the most popular domino variants is Draw. It requires a double-six set of 28 tiles. These are shuffled face down and form the stock or boneyard. Each player draws seven dominoes from the stock. If a player cannot place a domino in his turn he passes instead of drawing another tile from the stock.

Scoring

Domino is an easy-to-learn game that can be enjoyed by all ages. It is often played in groups, but it can also be a one-on-one game between two players. It is also a popular bar game, with many pubs in England hosting competitive darts and domino leagues.

The objective is to make a chain of dominoes by linking tiles together. Each domino must be positioned such that the matching ends are touching. If the exposed ends of the chain are divisible by five or three, one point is scored for each time. The first player to score nine points wins the round. The winning player then subtracts the value of all the opposing dominoes from his/her score (rounded to the nearest multiple of five). A double that has been played with both ends exposed is known as a spinner.