Domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block used as a gaming object. It has a face marked with an arrangement of dots resembling those on dice. The other face is blank or identically patterned.
A domino is played by a group of people who each takes turns playing one tile, called a “down.” The first player to play all their tiles wins the game. Each subsequent player continues to play tiles on top of the previous player’s down, until all the players have completed their hand or the entire game. The last remaining tile is then removed from the board, and the winner is determined. There are a large number of different games that can be played with dominoes, some having very similar, but not exactly the same, rules.
The most basic game consists of simply placing the dominoes on a flat surface, such as a table. A line of dominoes is then made by arranging them so that the open end of each domino matches up with the end of the next to it. This is called the “line of play.” As each new domino is added to this line, it may be positioned on its side or stacked on its base. Depending on the game, some doubles (such as the 3 and 5 tiles) can be played on all four sides. Other doubles must be played with only two sides facing up.
As the first domino falls, much of its potential energy converts to kinetic energy, or the energy of motion. This energy is then transmitted to the next domino, providing the push that causes it to fall. As the chain reaction continues, more and more of the potential energy is converted to kinetic energy.
Many different scoring methods are used in domino games. A common method is to count the pips on all the tiles left in the losing player’s hand at the end of the game and then add this total to the score of the winner. Some players may also agree to use a scoring system that counts only the pips on a single side of a double, for example, counting 4-4 as only two points.
Lily Hevesh has been fascinated by dominoes since she was 9 years old, when her grandparents gave her a set of the classic 28-tile variety. These days, she is a professional domino artist who creates mind-blowing setups for film and TV projects. She also runs a popular YouTube channel that features her creations. In this article, she shares her process for designing one of her designs. Hevesh begins with a theme or purpose for the installation, then brainstorms images that will go well together. She often uses a combination of different shapes and colors to create her installations. She then sketches out her design on paper, which helps to visualize the finished product. Once she’s satisfied with the sketch, Hevesh starts laying out the actual dominoes.