Domino is a game where players set dominoes on end in long lines. They can create intricate designs, including curved lines and grids that form pictures when they fall.
A game of domino ends when no player can make another play. The winner is the player who has the highest total score on their remaining tiles.
Origin
Domino, also known as dominoes or domino blocks, is a game of skill. It is a simple game to learn, but it has complex strategies. It can be played with two or more players. Dominoes are a great way to pass the time, and they are fun for all ages.
The earliest sets of dominoes have been traced back to China in the 12th century. However, it was only in the 18th century that the game became popular in Europe.
The word domino was probably derived from the Latin word dominus, meaning lord or master. However, some etymologists suggest that the name may have been inspired by the white with black dots markings on the domino pieces, which reminded people of the hooded capes worn by French priests.
Rules
Domino is not a single game, but a family of games. Almost all domino games fit into one of four categories: bidding games, blocking games, scoring games, and round games. There are also a number of variants that add or subtract rules from the basic set.
Generally, players take turns playing dominoes until one player cannot play any more pieces and must pass. This is known as closing a chain. When this happens, the opponent scores the sum of his or her unplaced dominoes.
The winner of a hand is awarded points based on the total value of all the other players’ tiles. The winning player is usually the first to reach a target score. A blank domino may be saved for later use, but it must be placed next to a domino with a number on both sides.
Variations
The most common domino games use a standard double-six set (28 tiles), but many other types of sets are used for different kinds of games. In the most basic game, each player draws seven dominoes and keeps them hidden from other players. The rest of the dominoes form the boneyard or scrap pile.
Players then try to match pairs of dominoes that add up to 12 points. The player with the lowest value of remaining dominoes wins the game. Other scoring methods include counting the pips left in a loser’s hands at the end of a hand or game, and taking only one side of a double (i.e., 4-4 counts as only four points). Other popular domino games include Mexican Train, Spinner, Cyprus, Bergen, and Matador.
Materials
Like playing cards, dominoes have one face that displays a number of spots, or pips, while the other side is blank or identically patterned. The dots indicate a value, from six to none or blank (zero).
Early craftsmen used animal bone inlaid with ebony pips for some of the first domino sets. Today’s dominoes are made of a wide variety of materials.
The most common material is plastic, followed by metal and then wood. Craftsmen have also made dominoes from the Tagua nut (also known as ivory nut), a close-grained palm tree nut native to the Isthmus of Panama. It is similar to mammal ivory in structure, but not as valuable. This so-called vegetable ivory is also used for dice, chess pieces and other game items.
Scoring
Dominoes are a group of flat thumb-sized rectangular blocks, each bearing from one to six dots (or pips) and sometimes blank. Each domino has a line in the middle to divide it visually into two squares, called ends. Each end has a value, or number of spots, which is the sum of the dots on each side of the domino.
The scoring system for domino varies from game to game. Some players count the total number of pips left in their losing player’s hands at the end of a hand or game and add this to their score.
Others use a cribbage board or an electronic scoring device to keep track of scores. Another way to score is to count the pips on each tile in a players hand. This method works well when the game is played with a double-six set, as it is easy to identify the number of outstanding tiles.