Dominoes – A Game of Skill and Strategy

Domino, a game of skill and strategy with rectangular tiles, has fascinated people for centuries. The most basic domino set contains 28 tiles, called a boneyard or stock, that are shuffled and then drawn by players. The first player to draw a double, which is marked with a number on both ends, makes the first play. Then, the other players make their plays in a line of play. If one of the players wins, he or she scores the total number of pips on the dominoes remaining in his or her opponents’ hands at the end of a hand or the game. The scoring method differs depending on the game, but often, only a single side of a double counts (i.e., a 4-4 countes as only four points).

Dominoes can also be used for creative work. Artist and architect Jennifer Hevesh has designed incredible displays of dominoes, including grids that form pictures when they fall and walls made from them. In fact, she holds the Guinness World Record for most dominoes toppled in a circular arrangement. Hevesh plans her domino art by considering its theme or purpose and brainstorming images or words she wants to use. She then creates a track for the dominoes to fall along, either straight or curved, and calculates how many they will need to complete the design.

Unlike playing cards, which have a fixed set of suits, dominoes have an unlimited number of possible arrangements of pips on each face. These pips, which are actually molded bumps on the surface of the tile, distinguish each piece from others and help to identify its role in the domino line of play. Dominoes are usually molded from clay, but they can be cast in metal or even made out of wood.

In the past, sets of dominoes were often crafted from natural materials like silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or dark hardwoods such as ebony. These materials gave the domino a more elegant look and feel, but they were also more expensive than polymer dominoes.

The word domino has numerous meanings and derivations, including the Latin “domino,” which refers to a cape worn over a priest’s surplice. However, domino’s most common sense today is a word to describe a sequence of events that result in an outcome that exceeds what would be expected or logically necessary.

In writing, this can be a useful tool when constructing scenes that run against conventional wisdom and require a domino effect to succeed. For instance, when a character does something immoral in a story, the writer must provide logic for readers to forgive or at least accept the protagonist’s behavior. In order to do this, the writer must construct a sequence of dominoes that will lead to an ending that is more compelling than what most readers think is logical or acceptable. This is how a story gains momentum and keeps readers engaged.