Domino is a game that involves arranging and lining up tiles in careful sequence before knocking them down. It’s an intriguing pastime for children and adults who can spend hours setting up domino chains, then watching them toppled with a single nudge. Some people even take it to the next level by competing in domino shows, in which expert builders construct complex reactions before a live audience.
The individual pieces of a domino set are called dominoes, bones, cards, chips, tiles, or spinners. They may be square or rectangular and have black and white spots, or they may be colored. A complete domino set usually contains 28 pieces.
Most of the most popular domino games fit into one of four categories: bidding games, blocking games, scoring games, or round games. Bidding games involve a person or team bidding for the right to play a specific domino first. Blocking games involve a player preventing other players from playing their tiles, while scoring games involve making a certain number of points in a row or round before the other player(s). Round games are similar to bingo and involve numbers or letters on each tile.
A domino may be played either face up or down, and the open end must match the adjacent dominoes in a line of play. The person who plays a tile must also determine its position in the line of play and whether it is a spinner or not (see “Order of Play” below). The number on the front side of a domino should be readable by all the other players, but if a player’s number is not readable it is sometimes marked with dots on the back, or a special color to indicate that it cannot be read.
In addition to the traditional phenolic plastic, many domino sets are made of natural materials such as bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother-of-pearl), ivory, and dark hardwoods such as ebony. These sets are usually more expensive than polymer sets, but have a look and feel that some people prefer.
The word domino is actually a composite of two other Latin words: dominum, meaning “power” or “authority,” and domus, meaning “house” or “home.” This word was used in English as early as 1750. The word also has roots in both French and Italian, where it originally denoted a cape worn by a priest over his surplice during carnival season or at a masquerade.
Regardless of whether you write by the seat of your pants or use a tool like Scrivener to help you create an outline, the plotting process is often akin to laying down a series of dominoes. As each scene is added, it should logically connect to the scenes that come before it and shift the emotional beats of your character(s). If you’re writing a mystery or thriller, you’ll need to make sure each scene provides new clues and raises tension. If you’re not, you’ll find yourself with a bunch of scenes that don’t fit together and are ultimately pointless.