Domino is a family of games played by positioning domino pieces end to end in long lines. When the first piece in the line is tipped over, it causes the next one to tip, and so on. This is the basis of a chain reaction that can build up to very complex designs. This is also the origin of the phrase, “the domino effect,” which describes a series of small actions that ultimately lead to much larger—and sometimes catastrophic—consequences.
Most people know how to play simple blocking and scoring domino games, such as bergen or Mexican train. But the games can be used for much more than just entertainment. They can also help teach kids number recognition and math skills.
Lily Hevesh, 20, began playing with dominoes as a kid with the classic 28-pack her grandparents gave her. But she soon became interested in creating her own domino art, and now has a popular YouTube channel called Hevesh5 where she posts videos of her creations. Domino art can be simple or elaborate, and can include straight or curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, 3D structures like towers or pyramids, or just stacked walls. But no matter what design you create, the most important factor is choosing the right domino pieces to make your design come to life.
Creating these structures requires precise placement of each domino, which is made possible by the way the tiles are designed. Each domino has a specific edge with dots that match up with the edges of the adjacent tiles. This allows for the pieces to be placed together in a way that gives each domino the same potential energy when standing upright.
When a player wants to score points in a positional game, they lay two dominoes side by side with their exposed ends touching each other. The total number of dots on the two exposed dominoes is counted to score the points. The dominoes must be lined up correctly (one’s touch one’s, two’s touch two’s, etc).
Other than basic block and score games, dominoes can also be used for other types of gameplay, such as a concentration variant or a game of skill, where players earn points by counting the number of pips on each domino. Many of these variations are played with progressively larger sets of dominoes, such as double-nine, double-12, and double-18.
The game has also been used in movies and television shows, such as the 2007 film “Dominoes” and the 2011 television series “Domino Revenge.” In addition to traditional domino games, people use them to create artistic designs or as an educational tool for children. Dominoes are even being used to develop new ways for customers to order pizzas, such as by texting or using devices like Amazon Echo. Dominos is a leading company in this area, with its focus on technology helping it to stay ahead of the competition and innovate new ways for customers to place orders.