Dominoes are rectangular tiles that have a number of spots, or pips, on each end. They are used for playing games of chance and skill, as well as to form patterns or designs. Dominoes are available in a variety of colors and sizes, and can be made to look like animals, people, cars, and other objects. They can also be made to look 3D and create structures such as towers and pyramids.
The word domino comes from the Latin term for “flip” or “turn over.” In English, it was first recorded in 1750, and earlier meant a hooded cloak worn together with a mask during carnival season or at a masquerade. It is suggested that the contrasting black and white of the domino piece reminded people of a priest’s ebony domino contrasting with his white surplice.
There are many games that use dominoes, and the rules of these games vary widely from place to place. Some of the most popular are draw, double-nine, and dominoes with a special pawn that has a spot for each player. There are even some games that do not involve any drawing at all, and instead use a special domino called the “death” or “disrupter.”
The most common way to play a domino game is to line up the tiles in one row. The player then plays a tile, which may be a single or double, onto the top of an existing tile. The rest of the dominoes then fall down over the tile. In some games, the number of pips on each tile is significant, and players are allowed to bye certain numbers of tiles from the stock (known as the boneyard). The number of byed tiles then becomes part of the player’s score.
A domino set can be any size, but the most popular are the small, rectangular double-six dominoes with a color border. Other types of dominoes include large, round, and hexagonal shapes. There are also sets made of other materials, such as marble, granite, soapstone, and woods such as oak and redwood. These sets tend to be more expensive, but have a unique and interesting appearance.
Many sets are also enlarged by adding additional pips to the ends. A commonly used extended domino is double-nine, which has 55 tiles. There are also larger extended sets, such as double-12 and double-15.
As the name implies, dominoes are usually used in a line to make a long chain of falling pieces. However, they can be placed in other arrangements, such as a square, a circle, or a grid.
Domino art can be incredibly complex, and is usually done by a professional artist. Some artists use dominoes to create curved lines that form pictures, while others build walls of them and add 3D structures. The artist must carefully plan each section, and often uses a scale model to test out her ideas before starting the real work.
Writing can be a bit like creating domino art, and it is important to have the right mental framework in place. The key is to plan the story in stages, and make sure each scene connects with the one before it. If a writer is a pantser, and does not make detailed outlines ahead of time, he or she can end up with scenes that are at the wrong angle, or don’t have enough impact on the scene before it.