Dominoes, also known as bones, cards, men or pieces, are rectangular blocks that have one or more blank or numbered sides. They are arranged in sets of 28 to form a full set. Each domino has an identifying mark, called pips, that distinguishes it from other dominoes.

Pairs can be formed by matching a tile with an open end on another piece whose values sum to 12. This is the basis for many games.

Origin

Domino is a generic gaming device and a cousin of playing cards. It can be used to play a variety of games that require strategic planning and skill.

Each domino originally mimicked the results possible from throwing two six-sided dice, and one half contained the pips of one die while the other was blank. Unlike European dominoes, Chinese dominoes did not contain any blank faces and were historically longer than western sets.

It is unclear how the name of the game originated, though it has been suggested that it may be derived from Latin’s dominus and an earlier sense meaning a hooded cape of black with a white lining worn by priests. The word grew in popularity as the game gained popularity. The game came to England in the late 1700s from France (possibly brought by French prisoners of war). There are many variants of this game that incorporate strategies from various card games and other dice games.

Rules

The rules of domino vary greatly from one game to another. The basic instructions on this website apply to most of the games played, but not all of them. For example, the way in which a player adds a tile to the line of play varies from game to game.

Generally, the open end of a domino must match with another tile, which is added to the line of play if it has the same number of pips on both ends. This is called the spinner or lead.

Some rules specify that the first player to make a play is determined by the highest double in his hand, while others state that the player who holds the heaviest single begins play. The players shuffle the tiles before each game, and may take turns shuffling or do it in one turn.

Materials

Over the centuries, dominoes have been made of various materials. The earliest sets were made of animal bone (and ivory for wealthier players), with black spots on white or bone-colored surfaces, to represent the numbers. Other natural materials, such as stone and wood have also been used.

Modern domino sets are usually made of cheap shiny plastic, but some high-end wood dominoes, carefully crafted by a true craftsman, can be quite expensive. In the early 20th century, a synthetic material called Bakelite was used to manufacture dominoes. This hard resiliant material is now considered a collector’s item, and can be found in some vintage games.

Most domino sets come in a storage box that can vary from simple cardboard boxes to vinyl snap lock cases. These cases can have a felt surface to protect the dominoes from scratches.

Variations

There are many variations of domino games. Some involve blocking, while others are scoring games. Regardless, they all share the same basic mechanism of connecting one end of a domino to the other to form a chain or line.

A domino is a rectangular tile with an arrangement of spots, called pips, on both ends and blank or identically patterned on the other. The pips indicate a value, ranging from six to none.

Some variations of the standard draw game include matador, which uses a double-nine or double-twelve set; and muggins, in which the goal is to make the sum of the open ends a multiple of five. There are also positional games, in which players place tiles edge to edge to block their opponents.

Scoring

Many games use the scoring system of counting the pips on each tile to determine a player’s score. For example, in the game of 5s-and-3s (which is widely played in British public houses), each end is worth one point for each time five or three can be divided into the sum of the ends of two dominoes laid side by side.

Most games, however, involve blocking and scoring. In blocking games, players try to empty their hands while preventing opponents from making a play. Dominoes can also be used to duplicate card games, such as cribbage. Domino is designed and optimized for unique data science workflows, providing self-service access to data, tools, and infrastructure, enabling reuse and collaboration across teams, enforcing best practices, and compounding knowledge and efficiency.