Domino is a game that is played with small rectangular pieces called dominoes. These tiles are used in a variety of games, including blocking and scoring, as well as more complex layout or trick-taking games. These games are similar to playing cards or dice, but a unique characteristic is that dominoes can be used to create an array of patterns and designs on the table.
The first domino is placed in the middle of the table and then each player takes turns placing dominoes on either side of it. The player who makes the first domino to fall wins the game.
In order to make it easier to play dominoes, the game has a set of rules. These rules can include how many tiles are required for each row, where they should be arranged in the grid and what numbers each tile is. In some domino games, the rules change depending on whether a player is playing against another player.
A domino is a rectangular tile with identifying marks on one side and blank or identically patterned on the other. It is divided by a line down its middle, so that each of the end squares has an arrangement of spots (called pips) that matches the markings on the other side.
European-style dominoes are typically made of bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (MOP), ivory or a dark hardwood such as ebony, with contrasting black or white pips. Other materials have been used, such as ceramic clay and frosted glass or crystal.
Most domino sets are available in double six and double nine sizes, which contain 28 and 55 tiles, respectively. Some larger sets, such as those containing 190 tiles, are also available.
The rules of the game are based on the concept that each domino belongs to one or two suits: for example, the suit of fours, sevens and aces. These are different from military-civilian suit distinctions in Chinese dominoes, which are considered a distinct subset of the game.
Once a domino falls, it sends energy to the next one in the chain. This energy is essentially stored in the kinetic energy of each domino, a type of potential energy. This energy continues to travel from domino to domino, until the last one falls.
As a result, a domino that falls is actually creating a cascade of new behaviors and habits that can lead to positive outcomes. For example, once Jennifer Dukes Lee began making her bed each day, she started to develop a habit of keeping her bedroom organized and tidy.
This habit of organization led to other changes she made throughout her home. She began to clean her closet and drawers more frequently, and she also began to organize her belongings more thoroughly.
It is this pattern of behavior that can be seen as an extension of the domino effect, in which a tiny shift in a single habit leads to more pronounced changes throughout the rest of the home. This is called a “chain reaction.”
Lily Hevesh has a passion for dominoes, which started at age 9. She learned to play the game when her grandparents gave her a 28-pack. Now, at age 20, she has a YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers and a career as a domino artist. She creates mind-blowing installations for movies, TV shows and events. Her work combines a version of the engineering-design process with physical phenomena that allow her to design and build complex, gravity-based domino setups that are difficult to replicate.