Domino is a word that can refer to both the game of domino and a phenomenon described as a chain reaction. The latter domino effect, which describes the way that one event can lead to a sequence of related events that builds and accumulates momentum, is a very real phenomenon. It can occur literally, such as when a drop of water causes ripples in a glass, or metaphorically, such as when Admiral William H. McRaven told University of Texas graduates to make sure they made their beds each morning.
Domino also refers to a particular type of pizza, which has been marketed with the promise that it can be delivered in 30 minutes or less. The company that sells Domino’s pizza, the Domino’s Pizza Corporation, is now experimenting with drone and autonomous car delivery systems to further increase its efficiency and improve customer satisfaction.
The most common use of the word domino is for the game of dominoes, a set of small rectangular blocks that each has two parts, either blank or bearing from one to six dots or pips that resemble those on dice. A set of 28 such dominoes constitutes a complete set. The term can also refer to any of the many games played with these dominoes, which are normally arranged in lines and angular patterns on a table. In a narrower sense, the word can also be used for a large hooded cloak that is worn together with a mask at masquerades.
In addition to the well-known blocking and scoring games of domino, other kinds of domino play have been developed, including solitaire and trick-taking games. These are generally adapted from card games and were once popular in some areas to circumvent religious proscriptions against the playing of cards. A good source of rules for a number of these games is The Great Book of Domino Games by Jennifer A. Kelley.
There are several ways to score a domino hand, but the winning player is always the one with the lowest total count when all players have finished their plays. In a tie, each player turns over the remainder of his or her dominoes and then counts the total number of dots. The player with the lower number of dots wins the hand.
The most basic domino variant involves just two players and a double-six set. The 28 tiles are first gathered into a pile called the stock or boneyard, and each player draws seven dominoes from this pool. The player then plays one of his or her dominoes by placing it on the top of a previously-played domino, with its end matching the number of pips on the end of the domino being played.
Each domino in a set is assigned to one of four suits, and each suit contains different numbers of pips on each side. The suit of a tile is determined by the number of pips on its leftmost and rightmost ends. For example, a double-six domino has two sets of four pips: the two pips on the leftmost end belong to the suit of zero, while the other pair belongs to the suit of three.
