Domino is a type of block that can be stacked on top of other blocks to form a structure. They are most often used for gaming and to demonstrate physics principles. These structures are sometimes made from clay, wood or polymer such as plastic. Dominoes are available in many colors and shapes, as well as in varying degrees of strength. They are typically double-sided to make them more easily stackable.
Most dominoes are characterized by an arrangement of spots, or pips, that distinguish them from other similar pieces. The pips are usually inlaid or painted, though some sets use more durable molded resin. The pips are often arranged in groups of two or three, with one end having more pips than the other, though some are blank (indicated by a zero). Normally a domino has a line that divides it into two squares. Each of these squares is marked with a particular value, which may be a number or an alphabetical letter.
Typically, each player begins with a certain number of dominoes that they can play with. The player who plays first must place a domino on the edge of a row or column of adjacent dominoes, and then continue placing other dominoes to fill in the gaps until they are complete. The next player can then begin placing his or her own dominoes. In most games, a domino must be placed touching another domino with the same value or a blank. Otherwise, it is considered to be off-limits.
In addition to blocking games, there are several scoring and trick-taking games that can be played with a domino set. These are usually adapted from card games, and they were once popular in some areas to circumvent religious proscriptions against playing cards.
When a domino is tipped over, the energy that was potential in the previous domino converts to kinetic energy and causes it to knock over the rest of the dominoes in the chain. This energy is transferred to each domino in the chain, and so on until all of the dominoes have been tipped over.
While the chain effect is the most impressive aspect of dominoes, their physical properties are equally interesting. Physicist Lorne Whitehead demonstrated in 1983 that dominoes can actually knock over things about a half-their size.
A good analogy for the Domino effect in novel writing is a scene domino, where each scene can be thought of as a domino that falls over on its own but creates an impact when put together with other scene dominoes.
For example, in a novel, a domino could be each point to advance information or an argument, as in a scene in a story. The important thing is that each domino has an impact on the rest of the scenes.