Dominoes are small, flat blocks used as gaming objects. They can be made of wood, bone, or plastic and are also known as bones, pieces, men, or cards. Dominoes have an identifying mark, such as a number or arrangement of spots, on one side and are blank or identically patterned on the other. Typical dominoes are rectangular, though some are circular or even square. The word domino is derived from the Latin word domina, meaning “flip” or “fall.” Dominoes are most commonly used for positional games in which each player places a domino edge to edge against another such that the adjacent faces are either identical (e.g., a double-six to a double-six) or form some specified total (e.g., a seven-to-one train).
Domino Art
Whether you prefer the more casual domino art of laying down a line of dominoes that create a picture or the more intricate and challenging designs that require a lot of planning, you’ll love this video interview with a woman who creates amazing domino works of art. Watch it to see how a professional domino artist plans her creations, then check out the finished product. She’ll show you how to plan out a track, calculate how many dominoes you’ll need for your design, and how to arrange them in a way that will make them fall the way you want them to.
The most basic set of dominoes consists of 28 tiles with the same numbers and colors on all six ends. This is a relatively small number and not sufficient for most games with multiple players, so domino sets are extended by introducing additional pips on some of the ends. For example, a double-nine set adds three to the maximum of eight pips per end, producing a total of 55 dominoes.
A standardized system of rules governs most domino games, although there are some variations in how the game is played and who wins. Typically, the first player begins by drawing his or her tiles and placing them on the table in an order determined either by a draw of lots or by who holds the heaviest hand. After the first tile is placed, the players continue playing dominoes until the last player “chips out” or fails to play a domino of the required value. The winner is the person with the highest score after a certain number of rounds.
When Domino’s Pizza began in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1967, founder Tom Monaghan emphasized opening locations near college campuses so that students would be able to pick up pizza quickly after class. His strategy proved successful, and by 1978 Domino’s had more than 200 stores nationwide. These days, the chain has nearly 11,000 stores worldwide and continues to grow at a rapid pace. Its success stems from its ability to address the most important complaint customers have: a long wait for their pizza.