Dominoes are a popular game. The pieces are usually made from bone, wood, or stone.
They come in seven doubles (numbers on both ends from double blank to double six) and 21 singles. There are many variations of domino games.
Rules
Domino is a game in which players use tiles to form lines on the table. Play is usually a round of turns with a stoppage at the end when one player “chips out.”
The objective of the game is to score the most points. This is achieved by laying down tiles that match the pips on the open ends of the domino.
In some games, a player may add additional tiles to the layout by placing them cross-ways across the end of a double. This is done to increase the length of the chain.
A double can also be placed vertically so that both of its sides are connected. However, this is not always possible.
Players who cannot lay a tile when their turn arrives “knock.” This is accomplished by tapping the edge of the domino with their hand. The next player then takes their turn.
Materials
There are many different materials that are used to make dominoes. They can be made out of plastic, metal, wood, and even stone.
Some dominoes are made from a variety of exotic materials, but most are made from cheaper mass-produced plastics and wood. These sets are commonly sold in cardboard boxes or snap-lock plastic cases.
Another type of domino set is a set that uses pictures instead of dots. These are often used in instructional or therapy applications and can help children learn to match pictures, names, or sets.
Dominoes are traditionally played on a green felt surface, which is good for dominoes because it keeps the faces of the tiles from getting scratched. The felt also provides a bit of grip and slide for the tiles to slow them down. The feel of the baize also helps to deaden sound when the dominoes are laid down on the table, which can help to make the game more enjoyable.
Variations
Dominoes are a popular game that can be played by adults and children alike. There are many different variations of domino, including positional games and solitaire or trick-taking variants.
In positional domino games, each player takes turns placing a domino edge to edge against the opponent’s. The adjacent faces must either be identical (e.g., 5 to 5) or form some specified total.
Players can also play straight dominoes, a variant of block dominoes. This is played by drawing seven dominoes from a face-down boneyard and then taking it in turn to lay matching domino halves end to end.
Players score points any time they lay a domino with an exposed end, i.e., the initial domino, two ends on a spinner, and the end of the main line of dominoes. This rule variation is often used in multi-round games. The player who reaches a certain target score or amasses the most points in a set number of rounds wins.
Scoring
Scoring is an important part of any domino game. It determines the winner of the round and if the game is played in teams, who wins the match.
There are several ways to score points. The most commonly used is to place the best-suited tiles in order of value.
The game is most interesting when played in teams. The team with the lowest number of dots on its dominoes at the end of a hand collects a bonus based on the formula above, which is typically rounded off to the nearest multiple of five.
The scoring system also includes the aforementioned “Me-Mo” (the winning team’s score minus their opponents’) and a “Blocked” game, in which players are not allowed to play a single tile for a turn. The aforementioned “Me-Mo” is the shortest of the round-to-round times whereas the “Blocked” game involves a lot more strategy than one would expect for a simple one-on-one game.