A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block with either blank or marked faces, each half bearing an arrangement of dots similar to those on a die. It is used to play a game of skill called dominoes or domino, in which the players try to make a line of tiles by matching and laying down one domino on top of another with its open end facing up. There are countless variations of the game, and it can be played with as few as two people or as many as six. The term domino may also refer to a sequence of events predicted by a theory based on the idea that one event will cause several others in the same pattern.
A Domino Effect in Fiction
In writing, the process of creating a story or scene can be compared to a domino effect. As each piece of the story falls into place, it sets off a chain reaction that creates the plot and builds to the climax. As a writer, you can use the domino effect to help ensure that your scenes are logical and follow each other in an order that makes sense for your readers.
Domino Games
There are countless games that can be played with domino, and many of them have different rules and scoring systems. However, most domino games fall into four categories: bidding games, blocking games, scoring games, and round games.
When a player begins a turn, he will usually draw a domino from the stock and then play it according to the rules of the particular game being played. If he does not have a domino to lay down, the next player takes his turn. In some games, each player has to play his turn in order, and in others it is permissible to hold back a domino for strategic reasons.
Once a player has placed his domino, the remaining dominoes in the opponent’s hands are counted to determine the winner of the hand or the game. For example, in the game of Muggins, the winner is determined by adding up the total number of dots on all of the opponents’ dominoes that remain in their hands at the end of the hand or game and subtracting from this the number of times that an opponent’s domino has an open end that is a multiple of 5.
In addition to determining the outcome of the game, the open ends of the dominoes can be used for various purposes, such as marking a space for scoring or blocking. The dominoes are then stacked in their correct position and the score is recorded by a scorekeeper. Unless the rules of a particular game state otherwise, the first player to score in a domino game is declared the winner. If the scores are tied, the tie is broken by drawing new dominoes from the stock. Depending on the game being played, seating arrangements may be determined by lot or by the ranking of the players’ dominoes.
