Domino is a game of skill, where the object is to complete a line of dominoes. The line of play, or chickenfoot, must be completed before the next player plays a tile.
A domino is considered a pair of tiles when their total pips sum to 12. In some sets, doubles are only paired with other doubles, while others allow pairing with singles.
Rules
Domino is a game of matching and scoring points. The game is played on a table and the tiles are placed end to end in a line, called the Line of Play. The tiles have pips on one side and blank or identically patterned on the other. The pips represent points and are used to determine the winner.
Players take turns adding tiles to the Line of Play by matching a domino’s open ends with those of previously played tiles. A domino that has two matching pips is referred to as a spinner and may be played on both ends of the Line of Play.
Once a player clears his hand of all the dominoes, he wins the round. He then receives points equal to the number of remaining dots in his opponent’s hand. To win the most points, pay attention to your opponent(s) moves throughout the round. For example, if you know your opponent(s) are lacking a particular number, avoid playing it early in the round.
Materials
A domino is a small, flat rectangular game piece that has been made from many different materials over the centuries. Today, domino sets are generally made from plastic, but they have also been made from bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, and ebony. Each piece of a domino has a line in the center that visually divides it into two square halves, and each half is marked with either black or white spots, called pips.
Each dot on a domino represents one of the numbers from zero to six, and the number of dots on a particular piece determines its value. The pips are uniformly molded or drilled on each domino, and some sets have the pips inlaid into the piece instead of painted on them. The pips are usually a darker color than the rest of the domino, giving them their distinctive look. Most domino sets come in a storage box with a lid that has a recessed area for the pieces.
Variations
Domino is both a casual family pastime and a serious competitive hobby, with many variations to the game. Domino tiles (also known as bones) are twice as long as wide and have a line down the middle dividing them into squares marked with arrangements of dots or pips, like those on a die. A domino’s value is determined by counting its open ends; one point is scored when a player matches an opponent’s hand.
The player with the lowest total value of their opponents’ remaining tiles wins. Counting revealed tiles and those in your own hand is critical to good domino strategy, as well as knowing when to draw from the bone yard. The game generally continues until one player is blocked or no longer has a legal play, at which time the winner is declared.
Scoring
The winner of each game adds to his score the sum of the pips in his opponents’ dominoes. The number of points added depends on the rules of the particular game, but is typically a multiple of 5.
Domino can also “dominoe” other players’ hands by touching their exposed ends, resulting in chains of dominoes that add up to a multiple of five (for example, when a one’s end touches a two’s, creating both a three and a six). This process can be called “blocking” and can increase the player’s score significantly.
In addition, Domino subconsciously generates a psionic aura that alters probabilities around her and can affect everything from making enemy equipment malfunction to hitting just the right button to shut down an overloading machine. This ability allows her to get lucky, which is why she’s considered a skilled mercenary. She once rejoined X-Force as a freelancer, but left when Pete Wisdom turned it into a proactive black ops squad.