A game of Dominoes

Dominoes (or "dominos") generally refers to the individual or collective gaming pieces making up a domino set (sometimes called a deck or pack) or to the games played with dominoes these pieces. A game is a structured activity, usually undertaken for Enjoyment and sometimes also used as an Educational tool In the area of mathematical tilings and polyominoes the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two squares edge to edge. A tessellation or tiling of the plane is a collection of Plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps In Recreational mathematics, a polyomino is a Polyform with the square as its base form In Geometry, a rectangle is defined as a Quadrilateral where all four of its angles are Right angles A rectangle with vertices ABCD would be denoted as Standard domino sets consist of 28 pieces called bones, cards, tiles, tickets, stones, spinners or dominoes. Each bone is a rectangular tile with a line dividing its face into two square ends. Each end is marked with a number of black spots (also called pips) or is blank. PIPS may refer to Pakistan International Public School and College Performance Information Procurement System POSIX The spots are generally arranged as they are on six-sided dice, but because there are also blank ends having no spots there are normally seven possible faces. For other uses see either Die or Dice (disambiguation. Dice (the Plural of Die, from Old French Standard domino sets have ends ranging from zero spots to six spots (double six set), but specialized sets might range from zero to nine (double nine set), zero to twelve (double twelve set), zero to fifteen (double fifteen set), or zero to eighteen (double eighteen set). The back side of a domino is generally plain, or is decorated in the same manner on every piece. Dominoes have been made of bone, ivory, plastic, metal and wood, and occasionally are made of card stock like that for playing cards. Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products The M acro E xpansion T emplate A ttribute L anguage complements TAL, providing macros which allow the reuse of code across Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper thin card or thin plastic figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing Card games Dominoes are rather generic gaming devices. Many different games can be played with a set of dominoes.

History

While most modern domino pieces are rectangular and made of ceramic or heavy plastic, they were historically carved from ivory or animal bone with small, round pips of inset ebony. The word ceramic is derived from the Greek word κεραμικός ( keramikos) Plastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, Bones are rigid organs that form part of the Endoskeleton of Vertebrates They function to move support and protect the various organs of the body produce Ebony ( Diospyros ebenum) also known as India Ebony or Ceylon Ebony depending on its origin is a Tree in the genus Diospyros The game's name comes from the pieces' resemblance to Venetian Carnival masks known as domini, which were white with black spots. The Carnival of Venice (in Italian: Carnevale Di Venezia) was first recorded in 1268. These masks were so named, in turn, because they resembled French priests' winter hoods, being black on the outside and white on the inside. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities The name ultimately derives from the Latin dominus, meaning "lord" or "master. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. "

The oldest domino sets have been dated from around 1120. Modern dominoes, as most of the Western world knows them, however, appear to be a Chinese invention. They were apparently derived from cubic dice, which had been introduced into China from India some time in the distant past. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Each domino originally represented one of the 21 results of throwing two dice. One half of each domino is set with the pips from one die and the other half contains the pips from the second die. Chinese sets also introduce duplicates of some throws and divide the dominoes into two classes: military and civil. Chinese dominoes are also longer than typical European dominoes. Over time Chinese dominoes also evolved into the tile set used to play Mah Jong, a game which swept across the United States in the early to mid 1920s. Mahjong (also called mah-jongg by the American association Traditional Chinese 麻將 Pinyin: májiàng is a Game for four players that originated in

The early 18th century witnessed dominoes making their way to Europe, making their first appearance in Italy. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The game changed somewhat in the translation from Chinese to the European culture. European domino sets contain neither class distinctions nor the duplicates that went with them. Instead, European sets contain seven additional dominoes with six of these representing the values that result from throwing a single die with the other half of the tile left blank.

Tiles and rules

Tiles and suits

Bones are generally named for the number of dots on the two ends of the bone. A bone with a 2 on one end and a 5 on the other end is called the two five, for example. Bones that have different numbers on the two ends are called singles, and bones that have the same number on both ends are called doublets or doubles.

Bones that share a common number of spots on one end are said to be of the same suit. In a double-six set, for example, 1–0, 1–1, 1–2, 1–3, 1–4, 1–5, and 1–6 all belong to the suit of one. All singles belong to two suits. The 1–2, for example, belongs to the suit of one and the suit of two. All doubles belong to one suit only by this definition. An alternate definition of suit allows all dominoes to have two suits, by counting the set of all doublets as an additional suit.

Ranks

The value of each end of a bone is determined by the number of spots on the end, with zero (blank) being the lowest and six being the highest. The rank of a bone is determined by the combined number of pips on the two ends. This rank is sometimes referred to as the bone's weight so that a higher ranking bone is called a heavier bone while a lower ranking bone is called lighter.

Sets

There are currently five major domino sets commercially available. They are Double Six, Double Nine, Double Twelve, Double Fifteen, and Double Eighteen, which is the largest set available commercially. Here are the number of tiles and points (pips or spots) in each set.

• Double 6: 28 tiles, 168 pips
• Double 9: 55 tiles, 495 pips
• Double 12: 91 tiles, 1092 pips
• Double 15: 136 tiles, 2040 pips
• Double 18: 190 tiles, 3420 pips

Generally the most commonly used sets are Double Sixes and Double Nines, though the other three sets are more popular for games involving several players or for players looking for long domino games.

Game variations

See also: List of domino games

Common games

Most domino games are block games or draw games. This article contains a list of domino games List of games 42 Bendomino Chicken Foot In draw games, players take part in the bone election, drawing from the boneyard when they have no matching, the bossman then reshuffles the bones before the final deal. In this case, the player with the highest double must lead by playing that double. If no player has a double, the heaviest bone is played. Playing the first bone of a hand is sometimes called setting the first bone, leading the first bone, downing the first bone, or posing the first bone, and the bone so set, led, downed, or posed is called the set, the lead, the down, or the pose. Dominoes afficinadoes often call this procedure smacking the bone down. After the first hand, the winner of the previous hand is usually the leader for the next. After the final shuffle the bones are dealt; each player in turn draws the number of bones required (7). The stock of bones left behind is called the boneyard, and the bones therein are said to be sleeping. The player with the highest double leads with that double and, if no player has a double, the hand is reshuffled and redealt.

The next player, and all players in turn, must play a bone with an end that matches one of the open ends of the layouts. Play continues until one of the players goes out (and calls "out!" or "domino!") and wins the hand. Or until all the players are blocked and no legal plays are left. This is in some areas referred to as a lockdown. If all the players are blocked, or locked out the player with the lowest hand wins. .

In block games, players who cannot match on their turn must forfeit the turn by knocking (passing), accomplished by tapping twice on the table or by saying, "go" or "pass". In draw games, players who cannot match must draw bones from the boneyard until obtaining a playable bone. If the boneyard is exhausted, the player knocks.

In games where points are accrued, the winning player scores a point for each pip on each bone still held by each opponent. If no player went out, however, and the win was determined by the lightest hand, the winning player sometimes scores a point for each pip on each bone still held by each opponent, and sometimes only the excess held by opponents. A game is generally played to 100 points, the tally being kept with paper and pencil. Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging A pencil is a Writing or Drawing instrument consisting of a thin stick of Pigment (usually Graphite, but can also be coloured pigment or In more common games, mainly urban rules, games are played to 150 or 250 points and are tallied by creating houses, where the beginning of the house (the first ten points) is a large +, the next ten points are O, and scoring with a 5 is a /, and are placed in the four 'corners' of the house. O is the fifteenth letter of the modern Latin Alphabet. Its name in English is spelled o (oʊ plural usually o's or os; sometimes The slash ( /) is a punctuation mark It is also called a virgule, diagonal, stroke, forward slash, oblique dash, In some areas, if a lockdown occurs then the first person to call the lockdown will gain the other players bones and add the amount of the pips to their house.

Games using more dominoes

With bigger domino sets, especially with the Double Fifteens and Double Eighteens, it is possible to have more players. Double 9s is good for 4 to 6 players and each player would start with 7 dominoes in their hand. Double 12s, 15s, and 18s are good for up to 10 to 15 players, each with 7 dominoes. If you have fewer players and more dominoes, start with more dominoes in each player's hand, but leave enough dominoes in the bone pile to draw from. When using the larger sets, make sure you have plenty of playing room as they can spread out considerably.

Double 6s = 8 rounds, double 9s = 10 rounds, double 12s = 13 rounds, double 15s = 16 rounds, double 18s = 19 rounds.

Other games

There are also a variety of other games played with dominoes. Some are simple memory games like Concentration (based on the card game of same name), some are complex, and some are simple solitaire games. Concentration, also known as Memory, Pelmanism, Shinkei-suijaku or simply Pairs, is a Card game in which all of the cards Common games include Private Trains and Chicken Foot. Private Trains, also known as Domino Trains, is a simple Domino game, which can utilize any of the five domino sets although the larger sets significantly increase

A popular domino game in Texas is 42. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. 42, also known as Texas 42, is a Trick-taking game played with a standard set of double six Dominoes. The game is similar to the card game spades. It is played with four players paired into teams. Each player draws seven dominoes, and the dominoes are played into tricks. Each trick counts as 1 point, and any domino with a multiple of 5 dots counts toward the total of the hand. 35 points of "five count" + 7 tricks = 42 points, hence the name.

Also, in the Caribbean, there are other common games which involve four players in which the players can play as partners or as individuals. In partners, the partners sit across from each other and all hands can not be seen by the other players. The game is started by shuffling the dominoes or 'cards' and each player pulling seven cards. The double six is then played and play continues to the starter's right side. If a player can not play then he is passed and it is the next player's turn. The object is for a team to win by one of the players running out of dominoes. The winning team is awarded a point and then restart the process by shuffling and pulling a new hand and then starting with any domino either partner wishes to play. The game goes on till one team reaches six points. Double points are awarded when you get 'key'. This happens when your last card is the only card that can be played on both ends. Also when a player pulls five doubles all players put their dominoes back and pull new hands, the following game is played for 2 points and the double six is started by the player who has it. This variation is called Partners, where the other variation is called Cut-Throat, where each player plays for himself, in which all the same rules apply as in partners. This form of dominoes is most common in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. The Cayman Islands are a British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea, comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac

Competitive play

Dominoes is played at a professional level, similar to poker, and matches and tournaments are often televised in Latin America. Numerous organisations and clubs of amateur domino players exist around the world. Some organisations, including the International Federation of Dominos and the Fédération Internationale de Domino (FIDO), organise international competitions. The 2007 FIDO domino world champion is the Swiss college student Alex Joss. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Alex Joss (born 1985 is a Swiss Domino player from Solothurn.

Other uses of dominoes

Dominoes waiting to fall

Other than playing games of strategy, another common pastime using domino tiles is to stand them on edge in long lines, then topple the first tile, which falls on and topples the second, which topples the third, etc. , resulting in all of the tiles falling. Arrangements of millions of tiles have been made that have taken many minutes to fall. By analogy, similar phenomena of chains of small events each causing similar events leading to eventual catastrophe are called domino effects. This article is about chain reactions. For the political theory, see Domino Theory. The phenomenon also has some theoretical relevance (amplifier, digital signal, information processing), and this amounts to the theoretical possibility of building domino computers. Generally an amplifier or simply amp, is any device that changes usually increases the amplitude of a signal. The term digital signal is used to refer to more than one concept Information processing is the change (processing of Information in any manner detectable by an observer. A domino computer is a mechanical Computer built using Dominoes to represent mechanical amplification of Digital signals Because of the existence

The Netherlands has hosted an annual domino toppling exhibition called Domino Day since 1986. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Domino Day is a world record attempt for the highest number of falling Domino stones organised each year by Endemol Netherlands Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The event held on November 18, 2005 knocked over 4 million dominoes. Events 326 - The old St Peter's Basilica is consecrated 1302 - Pope Boniface VIII issues the Papal bull Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Another new record was set at 4,079,381 stones on November 17, 2006. Events 284 - Diocletian is proclaimed emperor by his soldiers Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

At one time, Pressman Toys manufactured a product called Domino Rally that contained tiles and mechanical devices for setting up toppling exhibits. Pressman Toy Corporation is a toy manufacturer based in New York, NY which was founded in 1922 by Jack Pressman. Domino Rally was a Toy product manufactured by Pressman Toys in the 1980s and early 1990s

Dominoes are not just for games these days. Domino Art is the art of decorating domino tiles. First the domino is sprayed with an acrylic paint. Once it has dried, it is stamped with a rubber stamp and then various colors of ink are applied. Some artists drill holes in them before spraying and wire wrap the finished piece.

Dominoes are also commonly used as components in Rube Goldberg machines. A Rube Goldberg machine is a deliberately overengineered Apparatus that performs a very simple task in a very indirect and convoluted fashion

See also

• Chinese dominoes
• Pub games
• Board games
• Polyomino
• Triominoes
• Bendomino
• Domino Rally

References

• Hoyle's Rules of Games 3rd Ed. Chinese Dominoes are used in several Tile-based games namely Tien Gow, Pai Gow, Gwat Pai, Che Deng, Tiu U, Pub games are games which are or were played in Pubs, Bars, Inns and Taverns particularly traditional games played in English pubs A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game In Recreational mathematics, a polyomino is a Polyform with the square as its base form Triominoes is a variant of Dominoes using triangular tiles A popular version of this game is marketed as Tri-Ominos by the Pressman Toy Corp Bendomino is a Tabletop strategy game similar to Dominoes, created by Thierry Denoual and published by Blue Orange Games in 2007. Domino Rally was a Toy product manufactured by Pressman Toys in the 1980s and early 1990s (2001). Hoyle, Edmond, Mott-Smith, Geoffrey, & Morehead, Philip, & Morehead, A. H. (Eds). Signet. ISBN
• This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica

External links

• Domino Plaza
• Dominoes at the Game Cabinet - includes a short history of dominoes
• Fédération Internationale de Domino (FIDO)
• Championship Domino Tournament Includes tournament and game (All Fives) rules.
• Weijers Domino ProductionsThe creators of the world record show Domino Day.
• Dominoes Rules at Digital Gamers Rules for 47 games and cross-reference of 39 known game aliases