Domino is a game played with small rectangular blocks marked with dots called pips. These pips can be used to form combinations that score points in games of skill or chance. There are many different domino games, which can be classified into two categories: blocking games and scoring games.
The word domino earlier denoted a long hooded cloak worn with a mask during carnival season or at a masquerade. Later it came to mean a playing piece.
Origin
Domino is an incredibly powerful mutant who has worked with various incarnations of the X-Men. Able to manipulate the laws of probability, she is an expert in weapons and a talented fighter. She has also shown precognitive powers.
Domino’s origin is unclear. It may be a reference to the black domino half-masks worn in Venetian carnivals or, more likely, a hooded cape of the kind that French priests used to wear over their surplices in winter.
Domino first appeared as a member of the clandestine Weapon X project, working with the traitorous Danielle Moonstar to thwart Malcolm Colcord’s plans for mutant annihilation. Later, she joined the new S.H.I.E.L.D. incarnation of the Six Pack and helped investigate Cable, who had been brainwashed to control his messianic powers.
Rules
After the dominoes have been shuffled, each player draws a hand of seven tiles. The player who draws the highest double (or, in the event of a tie, the heaviest domino) starts the first play.
As players make their plays, they place dominoes on the table in a line (called a layout or string) that can flow in any direction. Each domino must touch an open end of another domino, and the numbers on each end must match.
If a player draws more dominoes for his hand than he is allowed to, the excess is called “byeing”. Byeing may or may not be permitted depending on the game being played. The game ends when a player has no more dominoes to draw or the play is blocked and no player can make a move.
Variations
Many different domino games exist, each with its own set of rules and scoring systems. Some use the same basic game play: a player places a single domino, edge to edge, on top of another domino in the line of play until the line becomes unbroken. This is known as the “train.”
The heaviest double begins play in most games. If a player cannot place any more dominos, he passes his turn.
A popular game variation is Muggins, which scores each time the open ends of the dominos add up to a multiple of five. This variation differs from other blocking games, in which the number of pips in each player’s hand is counted to determine the winner. The scoring method may also vary from one variant to the next, for example counting only one end of a double.
Materials
Many different materials have been used to make dominoes over the years. Today, the most popular domino sets are made of plastics. However, wood and stone are also common. In the past, sets were made from bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, and dark hardwood such as ebony. These sets are very rare today due to a ban on ivory production in response to the slaughter and near-extinction of elephants and other large mammals.
The wooden surface of this domino set offers a good grip and is visually the most professional compared to other brands. Its consistency makes it well-suited to building all types of lines, fields, and structures. Each piece features the value of a particular number from six pips down to blank or zero suits.
Score
Most domino games are blocking games, with the goal of emptying one’s hand while blocking opponents’ play. Score is determined by counting the value of a player’s dominoes held at the end of the game. Some domino games count only the pips on the ends of a domino, while others use numbers and a formula for counting.
Standard, non-double dominoes have two unmatched ends; the smaller end always contains fewer pips than the larger end. The difference is found by subtracting the bigger end from the smaller end. For example, the 3-6 tile has a difference of three (three minus six = three). Domino Data Lab is a fully-managed cloud service that lets you run your code and store your data securely and reliably. Start a free trial today.