Dominoes are small flat blocks used as gaming objects. They are made of rigid material such as wood, bone or plastic and vary in appearance according to their design and manufacturer. Known by several names, including bones, pieces, men and stones, dominoes are distinguished by an arrangement of dots, or “pips,” on one face that indicates their identity and blank or identically patterned faces that are not marked (indicated in the listing below by a zero).
Domino is a popular game in which players in turn place one domino edge to edge against another in such a way that adjacent faces match each other or form some specified total. There are many variations of the game, some requiring skill and strategy and others simply luck. Domino is also widely used as a form of artistic expression, with people creating impressive geometric structures using the tiles.
Hevesh works with thousands of dominoes, often putting them together into complex arrangements that can take several nail-biting minutes to fall. She credits one physical phenomenon in particular for the success of her creations: gravity. Gravity pulls a fallen domino toward Earth and toward the next domino it contacts, helping to set off a chain reaction that can lead to an amazing display.
While the majority of domino games involve blocking and scoring, the tiles can also be used in layout games that require arranging the dominoes to achieve specific goals. Typically, these involve setting up an elongated snake-line of dominoes whose ends are touched by matching tiles. The resulting chains are then scored by counting the exposed dots on each end, which must add up to a multiple of five.
Several types of dominoes are available, with the most common being a double-six set (28 tiles) and a double-nine set (55 tiles). Larger sets exist, but these are not generally commercially available since they would make gameplay difficult for more than four players. The enlarged sets are “extended” by introducing additional pips to the edges of some dominoes, making them more versatile and increasing the number of possible matches for each tile.
Whether you’re building a masterpiece of domino art or just playing the game with friends, it’s important to play on a hard surface to avoid spills and other accidents that can ruin your day. Besides that, it’s always fun to watch the dominoes tumble and create a rhythmic motion as they fall. Dominoes can create straight lines, curved lines that form pictures when they fall, 3D structures like towers and pyramids, or even a train track!