Domino is a generic term for the family of games played with a set of dominoes. Unlike playing cards or dice, which have specific rules for each game, dominoes are designed so that they can be used for many different kinds of games. Most of these games are positional; each player places a domino edge to edge against another, so that the adjacent sides form identical patterns or some specified total. A line of such tiles is called a string, layout, or line of play. When the last tile is played, the line is completed and the score is made. Most modern domino sets use a special type of plastic called polystyrene, which is less likely to break.
A domino has a rectangular blank or identically patterned face on one side, and an arrangement of dots or pips, similar to those on a die, on the other side. The pips are usually painted in contrasting colors to make them easy to identify. The most common color is red, but the pips can also be yellow, green, or black. Some larger domino sets use more readable Arabic numerals instead of pips.
When a single domino is played, it must touch all the pips on both adjacent sides. In a chain of dominoes, each subsequent tile must be placed perpendicular to the previous tile (i.e., across the ends of the domino) unless it is a double, in which case it can be played cross-ways. Depending on the rules of the game, the way in which a domino is played determines its shape.
Most domino games are won by the first player to make a full row of tiles. This row may then be scored by other players, and the winner of the game is awarded points for the full row of tiles or the entire line of play. If the entire line is blocked, no further plays can be made and the game is over.
While the company began with only a few pizzerias in Ypsilanti, Domino’s strategy of listening to its customers helped it to quickly grow into a nationwide enterprise. Domino’s has also adopted the value of being a “champion employer” and emphasizes employee well-being, including a flexible work schedule and parental leave programs.
When writing a novel, it’s useful to think of each scene as a domino that can help you create the effect you want for your story. Each scene is ineffective by itself, but when arranged in the correct order and connected to the other scenes, it will naturally influence the next scene, just as each domino pushes on the others in a long chain of dominoes until they all fall over. Using the domino effect in your novel will make your book more interesting and compelling to read.