Domino, also known as dominoes or bone tiles, are a type of tile that has either blank or one to six pips or dots. A complete set consists of 28 such tiles that can be laid down in lines and angular patterns.
When a domino is stood upright, it stores energy that changes to kinetic energy as the domino falls. The kinetic energy causes other tiles to be played, which leads to longer chains.
Rules
There are many games that can be played with domino, and each game has different rules. The basic rules are that a player takes turn after turn putting down dominoes on the table. One can join a domino to an existing one on the table by having its pips (spots) match those of what is already there.
A player may also use a double if it has matching numbers on both ends of the domino (ie: 6 touching 6 or 4 touching 4). Each round of play continues until one of the players can no longer go and then they draw from the boneyard until they can go again.
The winning player is then tallied up. This is done by calculating the total number of spots in the other players’ remaining dominoes, and adding this to the winning player’s score. The game is usually played until a predetermined number of rounds are completed or until a specified point limit is reached.
Variations
Dominoes are rectangular, small game pieces with two square ends marked with a number of spots. Using different types of domino sets, the game can be played with 2, 3, 5, or even 11 players. The player who wins the game has the lowest combined total of pips on their remaining dominoes.
In the basic version of the game, 28 dominoes are shuffled face down and form a stock or boneyard, from which each player draws seven tiles. Each tile must be placed so that the two matching sides are adjacent. If a player cannot play a tile, they must knock or pass.
In a variant known as Mexican Train, each player starts the game with a double and adds to their train on each turn. Each player also scores whenever the open-end pips on the layout add up to a multiple of five. If a player blocks another, they are given points equal to the value of the blocking tile.
Materials
Over the years dominoes have been made from a variety of materials. They have been produced from plastics (often colored black or white) metals, stone, wood and even ivory.
Each domino is rectangular in shape and twice as long as it is wide. The face of each domino is blank or patterned with an arrangement of spots, or “pips,” that resemble those on dice. There are 28 dominoes in a complete set of the traditional kind.
A set of dominoes is usually sold in a case. This container keeps the tiles clean and dry. It is also easy to keep track of score with the box’s cover, which has a scoring board built into it. Some players use a special felt tabletop to play their games on. The felt prevents the faces of the dominoes from being scratched. There are also specialty cases that allow for larger sets to be stored more easily. These containers often have a locking mechanism on them.
Scoring
The scoring system in domino depends on the particular game being played. In general, dominoes are placed so that their ends match. Except for doubles, which are laid cross-ways across a domino chain, the two matching sides of the tile must touch fully. This arrangement is called the line of play.
In a variation of 5s and 3s, for example, players may add tiles to their own train on each turn. One point is scored each time the sum of the end tiles is divisible by five or three. This game also uses a boneyard, where all the dominoes not in a player’s train are stored face down until they can be used.
Another method of scoring involves counting the pips on all the dominoes left in losing players’ hands at the end of the hand or game. This score is then added to the winning player’s total. Depending on the game, rounds are predetermined or played until a set number of points is reached.
