Domino is a tile-based game that is played by placing one domino on top of another so that the numbers (or blanks) on adjacent pieces match each other. There are countless domino games and within each game there are many variations of play. However, all of the popular domino games can be classified into four broad categories: bidding, blocking, scoring and round games.
Dominoes are used to create intricate displays that can be made of straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, and even 3D structures like towers and pyramids. Often, these designs take several nail-biting minutes to set up and can require hours to fall in complete, precise order. Hevesh, who has more than 2 million YouTube subscribers, has been a domino artist since she was 10 years old and has created stunning displays for movies, TV shows, and events. She makes test versions of each section of a display and films them in slow motion before she puts it together.
Most domino sets are made of plastic or resin, but some are made of stone (such as marble, granite, and soapstone), wood (including ebony), metals, or ceramic clay. These materials tend to feel more substantial and have a heavier weight than polymer dominoes. They also tend to be much more expensive than their polymer counterparts. Because of their novelty and often heavier weight, these natural-material dominoes are often preferred by adults.
Whether they are plastic or stone, most dominoes have the same basic characteristics: they are divided, by a line or ridge, into two squares each of which bears an arrangement of dots (like those on a die) with some blank and some numbers. The numbering on each side of a domino is called its “pips.” Most modern domino sets have a system of five pips on each end of a rectangular domino, while some older sets have fewer pips or different numbers on the ends of the dominoes.
After a set of dominoes is shuffled and mixed, each player draws a single domino from the stock and then makes the first play. If there is a tie, the winner is determined by drawing new dominoes from the stock until there is a clear winner. In some games, the heaviest double is the player’s first play, while in others, the winner may choose to make the first play on any type of domino.
As the players continue to draw and play their tiles, a chain or line of dominoes is formed. This is referred to as the “layout,” “string” or “line of play.” The open end of a domino that has been played determines its count, so the last domino in the line must be a spinner, for example: 3-5-5-5.