Domino is a small rectangular block, usually numbered from one to 28, that forms part of a set of dominoes. A game of domino involves laying a series of these tiles in a line and then knocking them over. There are many ways to play a domino game, and some sets even come with special domino sets designed for specific games. A game of domino can be played by just two players or several, and it can be competitive or casual.
When someone says, “The domino effect,” it means that a small event will lead to an impactful result. For example, a terrorist attack could cause an economic crisis that leads to civil unrest. Or, a company’s decision to lay off employees could lead to a chain reaction that affects other companies and results in job losses. The concept of a domino effect is especially useful for writers because it helps them develop story lines that have a clear beginning, middle, and end.
A domino effect can also refer to a sequence of events that occur simultaneously, or in close association with each other, such as a series of explosions at a military base. The term can also be used in a political context to describe a country’s expected reaction to events that occur abroad, such as an increase in immigration.
In addition to being used as a type of game, dominoes can also serve as teaching tools for math, history, and language arts. Students use them to practice counting, adding, and subtracting while learning the rules of a given game. Teachers often incorporate dominoes into their lesson plans because of the unique way in which they can help students learn while having fun and interacting with each other.
While some people enjoy playing dominoes with friends, others are more interested in creating spectacular displays of the little pieces. In some domino shows, builders set up hundreds or thousands of dominoes in careful order before an audience, causing them to fall with the nudge of just one. Hevesh, a YouTube personality who creates domino displays for movies and other events, has over 2 million subscribers on her channel and holds the world record for the largest domino display.
There are numerous domino games, but all of them can be grouped into four categories: bidding games, blocking games, scoring games, and round games. When determining seating arrangements in a game with more than one player, the first player to draw a tile that has a number of pips that matches the number of pips on the lowest-numbered domino in his hand is the person who makes the first play. This player is often referred to as the setter, the downer, or the leader. In some games, a player may choose to buy tiles from the stock (See “Passing and Byeing” below) later in the game instead of drawing new hands. When this is done, the player must add these tiles to his existing hands before he plays them.