Domino is a game of skill and strategy that can be played in many different ways. Unlike dice or cards, dominoes are arranged in a set with one unique piece for each possible combination of numbers on each end. Each domino has a series of spots-called pips-which indicate its value. Traditional sets contain dominoes with from one to six pips on each end.
Each player plays a tile onto the table and positions it so that each adjacent domino shows one of its ends. The resulting chain of pips is called a domino line of play. If a player makes a play that has the effect of blocking the entire line, that is he or she has “played out of turn.” In some games, the person who played out of turn must recall the offending domino before the next play.
The rules of each game will determine the way in which a domino line of play is counted. Some games will use a number for the total of all the pips on all the ends of the dominoes that have been played. Other games will use a count that is determined by the pips on the two matching ends of the double tiles that have been played. For example, if a 5-5 tile has been played as the lead, both its two matching ends are considered to be ends of the line of play.
Whether a player is counting pips or playing out of turn, if he or she has no more tiles to play, he must declare this before the next domino is played and then pass his or her hand to the right. The person to the right of the declaring player begins the next round.
If the players are in a partnership, they may agree to decide how seats are to be assigned by lot. Otherwise, the player who holds the highest double may seat himself or herself to the left of his partner. If a partnership game is tied, the winners are the partners whose combined total of all the pips on their remaining dominoes is the least.
Lily Hevesh, a domino artist who has worked on projects involving 300,000 dominoes, says that the physical phenomenon of gravity is key to her mind-blowing designs. She explains that when a domino is knocked over, much of its potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, which pushes the next domino toward Earth. This push continues through the line until the last domino falls. Hevesh calls this the Domino Effect, where one behavior causes a shift in other related behaviors. For example, when someone decreases the amount of sedentary leisure time they spend each day, they often cut back on the fat in their diet as a natural side effect.