Domino is a generic gaming device used to play a variety of games. A domino is a rectangular tile with a value of six, five, four, three, two, none, or blank on each side. A domino is normally twice as long as it is wide, but smaller and thicker tiles are available for use. When a domino is played, it affects the value of all other tiles in its row or column. Each player then lays down a tile that is affected by the value of the last tile placed. If the player cannot play a tile, they pass their turn. Once all players have emptied their hands, the game begins again. The opening double is played first. After that, each player may play any tile.
Hevesh began collecting and playing with dominoes when she was 5 years old. By age 10, she had a collection of thousands of pieces. Now she is a professional domino artist who creates mind-blowing domino setups for movies, TV shows, and events. Her largest installations take several nail-biting minutes to fall after being set up in carefully controlled sequence.
Aside from being a fun and entertaining game, domino is a useful tool for learning basic math skills. A teacher can use a set of dominoes to demonstrate the commutative property of addition. By showing students that the total number of dots on a domino is the same regardless of how it is oriented, teachers can help students make the transition between using moveable manipulatives and relying solely on written numbers and equations.
Students can also learn to build complex structures with dominoes. The physics of how a domino falls helps explain the principles of geometry and trigonometry. The dominoes can be arranged in straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, stacked walls, and 3D structures like pyramids.
When a domino is played, it causes the other dominoes in its row or column to fall. These dominoes may have different values, such as the number of spots (called pips) on each side of the domino or the color of its dots. A domino that has more pips is considered to be “heavier” than a domino with fewer pips.
In many domino games, players compete for points by placing one or more dominoes in front of each other until all the dominoes have been played. The winner of a hand takes all the points in that hand. Other popular games include blockers, dominoes and cups, and Mexican train. Some games use a scoring system based on the number of pips on each domino.