Domino is a game that has a variety of rules and variations. The basis of most games is to play a domino next to another one so that the numbers or blanks on the two match each other, and the line of play continues. Depending on the game, the winner is determined by either counting all the pips in the losing players’ hands at the end of a hand or game or by adding up the total value of the played dominoes. The game also has many variants that are adaptations of other games, such as solitaire or trick-taking.
After the tiles are shuffled and mixed, each player draws a number of dominoes from the stock according to the rules of the particular game being played. The player who draws the highest double (or in some games, the highest single) makes the first play of the game. A tie is broken by drawing new tiles from the stock.
The game may be played on a table or on a flat surface, such as a floor. A domino is a tile, normally twice as long as it is wide, with a central line in the middle to divide it visually into two squares, called ends. Each end is identified by a number or by a blank; the values vary from six pips down to none or a blank, and each domino is also marked with a color or symbol.
There are many different ways to set up a domino game, and the rules of each are generally written down in a book. A good starting point is “The Great Book of Domino Games,” which contains rules for a wide range of popular games.
In the past, dominoes were made from natural materials such as bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory or a dark hardwood such as ebony with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or painted on them. More recently, dominoes are available in a variety of other materials, such as ceramic clay, marble and glass.
When playing domino, players should never hold back a playable domino, even when it is not their turn. It is considered poor form to do so, and holding back a domino for strategic reasons can result in the loss of a game.
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In addition to the aforementioned rules, there are a number of variants for each game, and some rules are specific to the type of domino being used. Some are simple, such as placing a domino on the table to make a line of play; this is often called a layout or string. Other variations use a more complex structure, such as a grid that forms pictures when the dominoes fall, or stacked walls.