Domino’s is a popular game of skill and chance. Its popularity has increased with the advent of online gaming.
A domino set consists of tiles with a number of dots (or pips) on each end. Each tile must match a previous one edge to edge, either by its number or by its blank side.
Rules
There are many different domino games, but they all have some common features. Most involve blocking the opponent’s hand. The first player plays a tile, then the others add tiles that match the open ends of the previous tile. If a player cannot play a tile, they may draw one from the boneyard (the remaining unseen dominoes).
Then players place their tiles on the table and begin playing. The winner is the player who has the least total value of their dominoes after all players have played their tiles. In some cases, this is determined by the drawing of lots or the heaviest double.
When a domino is placed on the line of play, it cuts off the corresponding end from scoring. Counting the open ends of the line of play is still possible, but only for the purposes of adding up the score. For example, a 5-5 placed on a 3-6 produces an open end of 3 (1+2). This count is added to the score.
Variations
Dominoes are rectangular tiles with a line down the center and a number on each end. The numbers vary in size, from 0 to 6 (or blank). They are thick enough to stand on edge. The dominoes are often marked with an arrangement of spots, or pips, like those on dice. Each domino has a specific name based on the number of pips on each side.
Most domino games are shedding games where the objective is to be the first player to play all of your dominoes or, failing that, minimize the number of unplayed dominoes you have when the game ends. However, there are also scoring games.
The most popular scoring domino game is Muggins, which is played in British public houses and social clubs. Players start with seven domino halves and take turns placing them in a line, end to end. Then, each time the last domino has an open end, a player scores. The points are accumulated until a player has scored enough to win the round.
Materials
Dominoes are small, rectangular blocks used in a variety of games. Over the centuries, different types of materials have been used to make them, including bone, plastic, and wood. Some sets of dominoes are mass-produced using polymer material while others are carved or etched from natural stone or even agate and woods such as mahogany, maple, oak, and ash.
Some sets use a mixture of traditional material such as silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or ebony, with white or black pips inlaid or painted on. High end wood dominoes are often considered works of art and come with hefty price tags.
Researchers have recently developed 2D quasi-layered materials with domino structures that display unique properties distinct from those of layered and non-layered materials. Their study of the 2D skewed domino-structured gallium telluride unveils an intriguing structural conformation that features a distinct interaction paradigm: a synergistic amalgamation of vdW forces and covalent bonds. This enables the amplification of interlayer coupling and leads to an astounding lattice constant contraction along this unique orientation that is tantalizingly close to 10.8%.
Scoring
Dominoes, also called bones, cards, men, or pieces, are shaped to look like squares and have a line in the middle that divides them visually. Each end has a number of dots, or pips, that represent integers. The pips on the dominoes belong to one of four suits (one suit for doubles; two suits for singles).
The player whose turn it is places a domino in the center and then plays an adjacent tile, matching its pips to the corresponding pips of another domino in the same line. The game continues until each player has completely emptied his or her hand of tiles, which can take some time. When this happens, the total score of the opposing players is calculated and added to the winning player’s score (rounded to the nearest multiple of five). The scoring system may vary among different games.