After the tiles have been shuffled, players draw dominoes for their hands. The player who draws the heaviest tile makes the first play. This player may be called the setter, downer or leader.
The winning player is the one who has the most points after a number of rounds. Points are awarded by counting open domino ends (multiples of three or five). Doubles count as one, and double-blanks as zero.
Origin
Domino (also known as Copycat) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books. She is a member of the X-Men. She was created by Peter David and first appeared in New Mutants #98 (Feb. 1991). She is a shapeshifter and friend of Cable.
Early domino sets were designed to represent every possible result of two thrown dice. These sets had no blank faces and were much longer than the 28-piece sets that became popular in the West during the 18th century.
The name “domino” is probably derived from the Latin word dominus meaning ‘lord’ or ‘master’, although some etymologists have suggested that it may be based on the hooded cape with black and white lining worn by French priests. The word was adopted by European-style dominoes and the game grew in popularity as a form of entertainment and relaxation in inns and taverns.
Rules
In most domino games the object is to get rid of your dominoes before your opponent and score more points. Players draw dominoes from the stock until they have seven, and then play them. The first player to run out of dominoes wins the game.
Depending on the rules of the game, there are several different ways to make a line of play. Some games count the number of pips on the ends of the line of play, while others count the number of pips on the exposed sides of the first double played.
The players take turns placing dominoes in the line of play, joining them to matching ends. The first player to make a match is the winner of that end. Blocking is also common, and scoring based on specific patterns or combinations of tiles may be used.
Variations
There are many different variations of domino. Some involve a set number of tiles; others allow players to play any tile that is adjacent to the one in their hand. Some games are designed to be faster than others. Matador is an example of a fast-paced game.
The most basic domino variant is called Block. Two or more players draw seven dominoes from a face-down boneyard, then play matching domino halves on their turns. The line of play is a chain of matching dominoes, and the player who plays the first double usually wins.
Another variation is called Mexican train. Players take turns putting tiles down to start their personal trains, which extend from the center of the table. The winning player is the first to complete their train.
Materials
If you’re serious about domino, it’s important to have the right equipment. From a domino rack to a score pad, the right accessories can make all the difference in having fun and being competitive. You’ll also want a table that can accommodate the tiles and won’t get your significant other mad for scuffing up the dining room table.
Domino pieces, also called bones, men, cards or stones, are usually twice as long as they are wide and have a line down the center to divide them visually into two square ends. Each end is marked with an arrangement of spots, called pips, and some sides are blank (indicating a value of zero). Domino sets can be made from a variety of materials, including plastics, metals, stone and wood.
Scoring
Most domino games fall into one of four categories: bidding games, blocking games, scoring games, and round games. In the latter, a game ends when a player is able to empty their hand or play all of their tiles. The winner then scores based on the number of remaining tiles in the losing players’ hands.
A variation of this is to count the open ends of the players’ dominoes (rounding up to a multiple of five). This is an accurate way to count, but it does not work well for cribbage or with a scoreboard. Another way to calculate a winning player’s score is to subtract the total number of dots from their opponents’ unplayed dominoes at the end of a hand or game.