What is Domino?
Domino is a game in which players place dominoes on a table to form a line of play. Each domino has a number of pips on its face and each game has different rules for playing that determine how each domino is used in the line of play.
Dominos have been around for centuries and have many uses, including a variety of games for two or more players. Many of these games are played with cards or other objects, but the most popular is probably the game of dominoes. This is a game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and can be played with the whole family or just between friends.
Traditionally, dominoes were made of ivory, bone, or silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl) with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or painted onto the surfaces. More recently, a variety of different materials have been used to make domino sets. These include natural stone (such as marble, granite, or soapstone); woods such as ebony; metals; ceramic clay; and even frosted glass or crystal. These sets often have a more elegant appearance and feel more substantial in the hand than polymer dominoes.
Many domino games are positional, meaning that each player in turn places a domino edge to edge against another in such a way that the adjacent faces either match in number (e.g., 5 to 5) or form some other specified total. The other players then add to this line by playing tiles that have the matching pips on one or more open ends. The last player to add a tile wins the game.
In some games, a set of dominoes is used for scoring rather than as a game in which the goal is to be the first player to make all of his or her plays. In these types of games, the winning player is determined by counting the pips on all of the tiles in his or her possession at the end of a hand or the game and adding that score to the winner’s total. Sometimes, players may agree to count only one end of a double as part of this scoring method.
Dominos can be used for more than just the basic game of placing dominoes in a line to create a line of play; they are also commonly used for art, such as curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures like towers and pyramids. Many artists enjoy using dominoes as a way to express their creativity and imagination.
For example, artist Lily Hevesh uses dominoes to create a piece of art that resembles a fractal. When she prepares a large installation, she divides the project into fractions to help her determine how many dominoes to use and how they should be arranged on the canvas or other surface. This helps ensure that a single mistake will not bring the entire installation crashing down.