Domino is a game that involves matching the open end of a domino on the table with one in your hand. It can be played by two or more players. The winner is the player who scores the most points.
There are many variations of this game. Some have very different rules.
Rules
Dominoes are a game of skill and strategy that can be played in a variety of ways. The game requires the players to think ahead, consider their opponent’s move and take advantage of advantageous situations. This ability is reflected in the name of the game: “domino” means masterful.
Each player draws seven dominoes for their hand. The player with the highest double starts, although some people prefer to draw lots for the start. The first domino played may be a “spinner,” a double that can be joined to on all four sides. After that, each player plays a domino in the line of play, joining it to the matching end of any other double or single.
When all the dominoes are played, the player with the most pips in his or her hand is declared the winner. This may be determined by drawing lots or the winner of the last round. The game is played in the clockwise direction.
Materials
Over the years, many different materials have been used to make domino pieces. The most common are plastics, but some sets use stone, wood or bone. The pieces are usually twice as long as they are wide. They are also normally made with a face that is blank or identically patterned on both sides and an opposite face that bears an arrangement of spots, called pips, similar to those on a die.
European-style domino sets are typically made from a high quality material like bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory or ebony with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or painted on them. Other natural materials like marble, granite or soapstone have been used for some sets.
There are also specialty domino sets that use other materials such as ceramic clay or frosted glass for a unique look. These are usually crafted by hand rather than mass-produced for commercial sale.
Variations
The rules of domino can be varied to suit a player’s preference. For example, a player may agree to allow “spinners,” or doubles that can be played on all four sides, to be used as leads for the whole game. Another variation, known as muggins, scores points whenever the sum of the open-end pips on a line of play is a multiple of five.
The most basic domino game, called Draw, is a two-player game using a set of 28 tiles that go up to double sixes. These are shuffled and form a stock or boneyard from which each player draws seven tiles. The players then place the tiles in front of them, facing each other, so that they cannot see their opponents’ pips.
The player with the highest double leads with that tile, for example, a double-six. The next player then plays a tile that adds to the total of the lead, for example, a double-four.
Scoring
Domino games are based on blocking and scoring. A domino has two ends that are either blank or bearing from one to six pips (or spots). A
Depending on the game, players may keep a running total score of points in their hand and a separate total score for their opponents. The winner is determined by whichever player has the lowest total score when a round is completed.
A basic scoring system involves counting the number of dominoes that have been revealed and those remaining in a player’s hand. Using this method, the player can make informed decisions. A more advanced method involves summing the dots on exposed ends of doubles to determine their value. Some large sets of dominoes use more readable Arabic numerals to facilitate this counting. This helps to eliminate luck and is considered a superior strategy.