Domino is a small rectangular block with two groups of spots on one side, often used in games. It’s also a metaphor for a domino effect, referring to a chain reaction of events that leads to something big. The term can also refer to a person or thing that has dominance in a particular area.
Domino’s is a popular game played by both children and adults. It is a strategic game that involves positioning pieces to form lines of dominoes or numbers. There are many variations of this game, each with its own rules and scoring system. The most common rule is that a player can only place a piece onto the table in such a way that it touches another piece with its matching end (unless it’s a double, which may be placed perpendicular to an adjacent tile).
A domino is usually made of bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory or a dark hardwood such as ebony with contrasting black or white pips. These are sometimes painted, inlaid or carved. Dominoes have been made of other materials as well, including stone (marble, granite and soapstone); metals (copper, brass and pewter); ceramic clay; and frosted glass or crystal. Some sets have a modern plastic look, while others are still made of natural materials.
When a domino is played and the open ends match, the player can then place a second domino on the line of play so that it touches the first domino and forms an even longer chain of tiles. Each time a player plays a domino, the chain of tiles continues to grow in length until no more moves can be made. The dominoes may be positioned on the edge of the table or on the face of the table, depending on the game being played and the playing surface available.
Some players draw more dominoes for their hand than they can use and must pass the turn when unable to make a play. The extra dominoes are returned to the stock and reshuffled, so that each player draws an equal amount for their hand. In a game with more than one player, each player draws a domino to determine their seating arrangement around the table.
A player’s seat at the table in a domino game with more than one player is called a “seat.” Some games require that all of the seats be filled before the game can begin, while others allow for empty seats. The seat held by the player who has the highest number of pips in the domino being drawn is the starting position. Once the seating arrangements have been determined, each player begins to draw dominoes from the stock and play them on the table according to the game’s rules. In most domino games, the pieces are not arranged in a straight row but rather in a line with some gaps between them. These gaps are called “non-pairs.” When a non-pair is drawn, it is placed at the gap to create an empty pair of dominoes that can be played by any other player in the same turn.
