Domino is a game of arranging a chain of dominoes, which can be played by two or more people. The game has many variations, and is one of the most popular types of board games in the world.
The game of dominoes is based on a set of 28 rectangular tiles, which are either blank or have a number of spots on each end, called “pips”. Traditional domino sets have only one tile for each possible combination of numbers from one to six. Larger sets, such as double-six domino sets with a variety of different combinations of pips, are also available for players who want to play longer games.
Dominoes are used to play a variety of games, including layout, blocking and scoring. A player’s goal is to collect a large number of pairs of dominoes. The first to collect a certain number of pairs wins the game.
When a pair of dominoes is collected, the players can then play them on the table to increase the length of the chain of dominoes. If the players cannot complete a chain of dominoes, they draw new dominoes until a suitable number is drawn and placed.
Originally, dominoes were made of ebony black and ivory. The name of the game comes from a French word that means a “black cloak” or “cape.” It may be derived from the hooded cloak worn by a priest over his surplice.
While most dominoes are made of wood or plastic, some sets also use paper, glass or stone. These can be difficult to handle and may break if dropped.
The most common sets are double-six and double-nine, which contain 28 and 55 tiles, respectively. These are the most popular sets for playing a wide range of domino games.
Some sets also include a few additional tiles for special purposes, such as playing the British pub game of “5s-and-3s.” In this game, players try to connect five or three dominoes from their hand to a domino already in play to make a sum of those tiles that is divisible by 5. The more times five or three can be connected to one tile, the more points are awarded to the player.
Aside from playing a game, dominoes are often used to create art and sculpture. Some artists, such as Hevesh, have created incredibly intricate displays using hundreds of thousands of dominoes.
Those art creations can be quite impressive, but it takes a lot of energy to knock them down. Hevesh says it takes a little bit of force to push the first domino past its tipping point, which is the point at which its potential energy is released and it can begin to fall.
Once that domino falls, it is immediately thrown to the ground, creating friction that allows it to continue falling until it hits another domino or the wall behind it. This movement produces some energy that’s then transferred to the next domino in the chain, and so on.