Domino is a type of playing piece that features a line in the middle that divides it visually into two squares, called ends. One end of each domino is marked with an arrangement of spots or pips, while the other is blank.
Many games use dominoes to create positional advantages and scoring opportunities. Some games count the number of pips in the losing players’ hands at the end of a hand or game to determine a winner.
Rules
Domino uses her psionic powers to influence the probability of events. Her ability allows her to manipulate the odds of a given situation to either gain an advantage or a disadvantage over her opponents. This can range from making an enemy’s equipment malfunction to deactivating an overloading machine.
Domino’s ability to impose the rules of domino on others can also be used to remove obstacles that stand in the way of a successful game. A common rule variation is that each player must draw their hand of dominoes face down on the table before playing a turn, shuffling them in the process and thoroughly mixing them by touching them with their hands.
The player may then choose to play the first tile of their hand by putting it down on the line of play or, as some players prefer, they may wait until someone else plays a double and then lay theirs down at right angles to that double. This is known as the “block game.”
Materials
Domino sets can be made from a variety of materials, including bone (often called “tawny”), silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (“mother of pearl”), ivory, or dark hardwoods like ebony. Some domino sets use contrasting colors, such as white pips on black dominoes or black pips on white pieces. Some sets feature a double thickness, with the top layer being mother of pearl or ivory and the lower layer being ebony or other dark hardwood.
A career mercenary, Domino is an expert in weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Able to manipulate the laws of probability and shift odds in her favor, she has fought against mutants from Stryfe to Mister Sinister as well as for human rights as a member of the mercenary group the Wild Pack. She later joined the clandestine X-Corporation in Hong Kong and fought alongside X-Force and the time-traveling mutant Cable. She also works for the mutant-rights advocacy organization X-Men, which she has led in the past.
Variations
Dominoes are double-sided rectangular tiles with a line in the middle that divides them visually into two squares. Their values, known as pips, range from six to blank or zero. Each side has a number of spots or dots that are arranged in a specific pattern. The number of pips may also be referred to as the rank or weight of a domino. A tile with more pips is called heavier than one with fewer pips.
A classic domino game is the Block game, which uses a double-six set. The game begins with a player placing a domino on the table. Players then alternately add a domino to the end of the line of play by playing a tile that matches the value of one of the open ends.
The winner is determined by the total value of all the dominoes in the losers’ hands at the end of a hand or game. The winner may then open the next game.
Scoring
Domino is a professional mercenary who fights for mutant rights. She was among the original members of Six Pack (along with Grizzly, Hammer, Anaconda and Tolliver) and has joined forces with hero groups like the X-Men and X-Force to prevent John Sublime’s Third Species mutant organ harvesting movement.
Domino’s scoring system is based on the count of all ends that make up the line of play. This count is only possible when a domino played is not a spinner (a double that can be played on all four sides). A score is made whenever the sum of the open ends of a domino chain is divisible by three or five.
The player or team with the lowest number of points at the end of a round is declared the winner. The points from the other players’ remaining dominoes are totalled to determine this, and added to the winning player’s score.