Domino is a game played by two or more players on a large flat surface such as a table. Each domino is marked with a pattern of dots or numbers, similar to the spots on a die, on one side and blank or identically patterned on the other. When joined together, these tiles form a line of play called a layout or string and must match each other in number and color (i.e., a set of one’s must touch a set of two’s). If the exposed ends total a multiple of five, the player scores points for this tile. The domino with the highest number of pips starts. Each turn a player must try to make a play by joining a domino from his hand to the matching end of a previous domino that is already in the line of play. If a player cannot make a play, he draws from the boneyard until he can.
Domino can be played in many different ways, depending on the rules agreed upon by the players. In most games, players draw an equal number of dominoes and establish who will start the game by drawing a tile with the highest number of pips. Play then proceeds in a clockwise direction. In multi-round games, the player with the most points at the end of the round wins. In some cases, the number of rounds is limited, and the player who wins a specified number of rounds is declared the winner.
Before each game, a player shuffles the dominoes and thoroughly mixes them by moving them with his hands. The player who does the shuffling may choose to alternate the task between games or the player to his right may shuffle for each game.
In most games, the “open” ends of a layout are closed and additional dominoes can only be placed on the open ends of those that have been previously played. In other games, a double can be played straddling the ends of a single and additional tiles may then be placed on both the long and short sides of the same domino.
In most domino games, a player wins by making the last piece in the line of play to either be a single or a double that matches a previous domino. In addition, some games count the pips on lost opponents’ dominoes (doubles count as one or two; a 6-6 counts as 12), while others don’t count doubles at all. In any case, the goal of the game is to make the longest line of matched dominoes. The winner of the game is the first to do this.