Dominoes are great fun to play with. They can be used to build straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures like towers and pyramids.
Dominoes have inertia, a resistance to motion, but with a small nudge they can move. This is what makes them such a good toy for children.
Rules
There are many different types of domino games that can be played. Some of the most popular are All Fives and variations, the standard or Block game, and Draw game. Regardless of the game, the basic rules of the games are similar.
Each player plays a domino in turn, positioning the tile so that it touches one end of an existing domino chain (or “train”). If a player can’t play his or her next move, he or she calls out (“knocks”) and play passes to the other players.
Each player has a personal train of play, marked with a marker, which stops other players from adding to it. However, if the player cannot add to his or her train, he or she may mark it as public, allowing other players to add to it. The first player to reach an agreed-upon score wins the hand or the game. Depending on the game, scoring methods vary, but in most cases winning players subtract the value of opposing players’ remaining tiles from their total number of pips.
Materials
Over the centuries, dominoes have been made from a variety of materials. In modern times, they are most often made from plastics such as ABS or PVC, phenolic resins such as Bakelite and other phenolics, or styrene. Specialty sets can also be made from woods such as oak, maple or ash, marble, granite soapstone, metals like brass and pewter, or glass or crystal.
Dominoes have also been fashioned from so-called vegetable ivory (tagua nut), which resembles mammal ivory but is much softer. Other craftsmen have used so-called ebony, a dark hardwood that was once inlaid with thin pieces of animal bone to create the dots, or pips.
A domino set is also required to play a domino game, along with a stamper or separator that helps keep the dominoes lined up in a row. Apps that allow users to simulate how a set of dominoes will fall can also be helpful for planning and practicing different designs.
Variations
There are many variations of domino, and they all affect the game in different ways. For example, the type of tile you play determines the line of play. In addition, the rules for a particular game may vary. Some games allow players to only play tiles that have a number showing on one end, while others require all sides of a spinner to be occupied.
The spacing and velocity of the domino are also affected by the size of the domino. The farther the domino is from its neighbor, the harder it hits it.
The pips left on each player’s remaining domino are counted at the end of the round, and the first player to reach an agreed-upon number of points wins. The game can also be played with partners. In this case, the players must cooperate to build a train of tiles. In order to do this, they must consider the positions of each side of the train.
Scoring
Domino is a game where the players add to their own trains and can also play tiles onto other players’ trains. The scoring system is based on whether the outside edges of all the dominoes add up to a multiple of five. The player with the highest score wins.
Each standard non-double domino has two unmatched ends, with one end having more pips than the other. The pips on each end of the tile range from six to none or blank. These are known as the ranking or weight of the domino.
Once all the players have played all their tiles, the remaining pips are added together to calculate the winning player’s score. Often this is done by subtracting the value of all the opponents’ remaining dominoes from their own. In other cases, the player with the lowest negative score wins. The winner then receives the points sitting in the opponent’s hand, which is usually a multiple of 5. In some cases, the game may be played until a predetermined number of rounds has been completed or until all players are unable to play.