Domino is a game played with small flat rectangular-shaped pieces that have numbers of dots or symbols on each end. They are usually twice as long as they are wide. Various materials have been used to make dominoes over the centuries, including wood, bone, and ivory. Dominoes are arranged on a table and, when it’s time to play, each player takes turns playing a domino. The first domino to fall determines the order in which the remaining dominoes are played. Dominoes can be a fun way to pass the time and help develop coordination skills. They can also be used for educational and therapeutic purposes, such as teaching counting and the alphabet to children with developmental disabilities.

The word domino can refer to a number of different things, including the results of an event or activity that triggers another in a chain reaction. The phenomenon is called the domino effect, and it can have a positive or negative impact on the people involved. The term can also be applied to the process of setting up a series of steps or activities, such as a test that will lead to a desired result. The idea of a domino effect is especially useful in helping writers create scenes that advance the story’s hero closer to or farther from the goal. The key to making a domino cascade work is to space the events properly. Too many events in a scene may be overwhelming and not logical, while too few events might not provide enough motivation or reason for the hero to take an action that runs outside of societal norms.

When playing domino, a line of tiles is formed on the table and players, in turn, lay down single dominoes that match the pips on the open ends of their own tiles. The player who makes the first play is referred to as “the set,” “the down,” or “the lead.” Some games include rules for breaking ties by drawing new tiles from the stock to break the deadlock.

Counting the pips on the dominoes in your hand at the end of a hand or the game is a common way to score. However, a rule variation that some players employ is to count only one end of the doubles (i.e., a 4-4 counts as only four points).

In the game of domino, each player aims to get rid of all of the dominoes they hold before any other player can do so. This is done by playing them according to the rules of the particular game being played. If a player holds a domino that is playable, they must make the play when their turn comes up, even if it means blocking others from making plays. Dominoes that cannot be played are known as blockers. The last player to place a domino wins the hand. The basic instructions listed here under Line of Play apply to most domino games that are played with more than one player.