Domino is a game that is played by one or more players. A domino set consists of 28 small oblong pieces marked with 0-6 pips in each half and can be used to play several different games. Each player attempts to lay down a domino in the line that is formed, matching the value of a piece already in the line. The first player to do so wins the game.
Many children like to stack these tiles on end in long lines and then tip them so that the next tile falls over and causes more and more to fall until the entire chain collapses. This is often called the domino effect and is a good example of the principle that a small action can lead to much larger, and sometimes catastrophic, consequences.
The rules for the different domino games vary, but generally a domino is drawn from the stock before each turn and the player with the highest double makes the first play. Then the player with the heaviest single takes his turn and then the player with the highest double again. In some games there is a rule that any player may buy additional tiles from the stock after his turn, but these must be added to his hand before he can make another play. Some games also have a rule that any double played must be followed by a single unless the double is a spinner.
Occasionally, no player is able to make a play and the game is blocked. At this point, the player to the left of the blocker draws a domino from the stock and places it on the table touching his own double. This begins a new domino chain which the blocker can join in his turn, thus removing the block.
Most domino games have a scoring method that involves counting the number of pips on all the tiles in a losing player’s hand at the end of a hand or game and adding that total to the winner’s score. Some games, however, have an additional scoring method that involves counting the number of a certain type of domino—usually a double but occasionally a single—at both ends of the line of play and adding that number to the winner’s score.
Before each game, a player shuffles the tiles face down on a flat playing surface thoroughly by moving them with his hands. He then draws his hand of dominoes from the shuffled stock and places them on the table in front of him. This is done so that the players can see their own hands but not those of the other players. The player to the right of the winning player shuffles for the next game. If a player reaches over his hand when drawing for his hand, this is called an overdraw and the extra dominoes must be returned to the stock and reshuffled before a new hand is drawn. This process is repeated for every hand played in the game.