Domino is a game played by two or more players. It is a game of skill and chance. It helps develop number recognition and math skills. It is also a great way to learn about strategy.
Players score points by forming a line of matching dominoes. A match is made when one of the open ends is a multiple of three or five.
Game rules
Players divide their dominoes equally and discard any odd ones. Each player then places their remaining dominoes face up in front of them. They look at them carefully and don’t let their opponents know what they hold. This way, they can play their first domino before anyone else can see it.
Each player takes turns placing a single domino in a line, making sure that it matches the value of one end to the other. When playing against a double, the dominoes can be placed parallel or perpendicular to each other, but they cannot touch at either end.
The player who plays all of his tiles wins the game. Players can also win by blocking other players from taking a turn or if the score reaches a certain number that no player can reach. Another scoring method involves counting the total number of pips on each losers’ dominoes left in their hands. This is known as “taking the pip”. This score is compared to other players’ scores and the winner is determined.
Variations
The word domino originally denoted a long hooded cloak worn together with a mask at a carnival or at a masquerade. The playing pieces themselves were once made with ebony blacks and ivory faces. Later craftsmen abandoned animal bone material in favor of a hard, close-grained wood called tagua, native to six different varieties of palm in Central and South America.
The most basic domino variant is the Block game, which requires a double-six set of 28 tiles. These form the stock or boneyard from which each player draws seven. Each turn, a player extends the line of play by adding a matching tile to one end. The first player to complete the line wins and is awarded the score for the remaining tiles in their opponents’ hands.
Other variations use a smaller number of dominoes, or include the use of curved tiles that allow the line of play to branch. For example, the swan drive Mexican Train variation allows players to place their own personal trains but also to play on the public trains of the players to their left.
Materials
Dominoes can be made from a variety of materials. These include plastic, metals, stone, and wood. Modern domino sets are predominately mass-produced from these materials. However, there are some high-end domino sets that feature real wood and masterful craftsmanship. These tend to command hefty price tags.
A domino is a flat, thumb-sized, rectangular block with the face divided into two square halves and bearing from one to six dots or pips (as in dice). The number of dots on a domino is indicative of its value. A domino with fewer dots is a less valuable piece.
In the 19th century, Bakelite was introduced as a new material for making dominoes. The popularity of this material continued until the 1940s when petroleum-based plastic took its place. Today, dominoes are most often manufactured from plastics like polymer and acrylonitrile but can also be made from wood or other natural materials such as tinplate and marble. There are even a few domino sets that make use of glass and crystal for a unique look.
Scoring
Dominoes are small rectangular blocks whose face is divided into two square ends, each bearing from one to six pips or dots, similar to those on dice. They are used in many games to create lines and angular patterns. Dominoes are usually played by pairs or teams of two. A domino set consists of 28 tiles.
In politics, the phrase “domino effect” is used to refer to a situation where one small trigger leads to a series of events that may lead to an uncontrollable outcome. Its roots are political, but the concept has now become more general and is often applied to other areas, including social or economic matters.
In scoring, a player or team wins by being the first to reach 100 points or more in a hand. Depending on the game, rounds are predetermined or played until a certain point limit is reached. The scoring system varies among different versions of the game, but most involve counting the total number of exposed pips on each end of the domino.