A domino has the potential to set off a chain reaction. When a single domino is pushed past its limit, it can cause the entire sequence to fall apart. This concept is well-known to anyone who’s watched a domino show, where builders construct massive sequences of stacked dominoes that are ultimately brought down with the slightest nudge.
Dominoes, cousins of playing cards, have long been one of the most versatile and entertaining tools for game play. They can be used for simple, tactical games involving blocking or scoring, or to build amazing layouts with spectacular effects. Some people even compete in domino shows, where they create a sequence of hundreds or thousands of dominoes, all of which must fall with the slightest nudge.
The domino principle is also a useful tool for writers to consider when creating logical scenes and relationships in their stories. The domino effect explains why an action leads to another, and why one event can influence so many other events.
A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block with an identifying pattern on its face and a blank or identically patterned back. The identity-bearing face is usually divided, visually, by a line or ridge into two squares, each marked with an arrangement of dots resembling those on dice (called “pips”). The number of pips indicates the value of the piece. Dominoes typically have a value of six or more pips, although they may also have none at all or fewer pips than the maximum value.
The most common domino sets have 28 tiles, but larger ones exist for players seeking to play longer domino games. The tiles are often arranged in a circular or linear layout known as a boneyard, and the first player draws from the boneyard to begin a domino game. If that first domino has no matching values, the second player draws a new tile from the boneyard and continues play until the first domino falls.
When a domino falls, it causes other pieces to follow suit in a sequential order, either clockwise or counterclockwise. The resulting chains can extend indefinitely or end at a point chosen by the players. The first player to reach a predetermined target score wins the game.
A domino can be made from a variety of materials, including synthetic resins, Bakelite and other phenolic plastics, and ivory. Modern commercial domino sets are most commonly made from molded synthetic materials. The pips on modern dominoes are usually colored differently to distinguish different end values (for example, a double-blank domino might be orange, while a double-six is black). Some sets of dominoes include an illustrated guide to the colors and their meanings. The guide typically also identifies the number of dots on each end value, and suggests a suitable color for the domino to be used in the game. The domino art that is created using these rules can be as simple or elaborate as the players desire, from straight lines to curved designs, grids that form pictures when they fall, and 3D structures like towers and pyramids.