Domino is a small, rectangular block of material, usually clay or wood, with a number of dots or pips arranged in one or more rows across its face. The simplest dominoes have just two sides, while others have three or more. Some are rectangular while others are square or even circular. Regardless of the shape, the dominoes must have an equal width and length across their faces in order to be able to fit together. They are normally twice as long as they are wide, allowing them to be easily stacked on top of each other.
There are many games that can be played with dominoes. The most common, called positional games, involve laying one domino edge to edge against another, so that the numbers on each of the adjacent sides match up, or form some specified total. The player who then plays that domino wins the game. The remaining pieces are then piled up to the side of the table, called the boneyard or, in the United States, the stock. The lead player draws from the stock to decide who goes first, and then plays according to his or her choice.
A domino has high centers of gravity, which means that it needs only a little push to get to its tipping point. That is why a tiny domino can have such a big impact. In fact, if you have 13 dominoes lined up in a row and then push one at the front, all of the other 12 will follow, for an impressive display of physics.
Hevesh, who has a YouTube channel with more than 2 million subscribers, began collecting dominoes at the age of 10 and became interested in creating mind-blowing domino setups. She now works on projects for movies, TV shows and events, including a music video for Katy Perry. She creates intricate designs that can take several nail-biting minutes to fall. Her largest domino layouts use more than a quarter of a million dominoes and took her about seven months to complete.
Although dominoes are usually made from polymer (plastic) materials, they can also be made of other substances, such as silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell, mother of pearl, ivory or a dark hardwood such as ebony. Sets made of these materials are often more expensive than those that are polymer, but they may have a more interesting look and feel, and they are sometimes more durable. Some sets are even made of glass, ceramic or metal. However, the cheapest dominoes are still usually made from polymer. In recent years, there have been many technological developments that have affected the way we play dominoes. For example, some people have developed mobile apps that allow users to place a domino on their phone, and then move it around to control its movement as the app enables them to do. This technology is changing the way dominoes are used, and there are now many different games available for domino fans to enjoy.