Domino is a game played with small rectangular blocks that have identifying marks on one side and are blank or identically patterned on the other. These identifying marks are usually dots similar to those on dice.
Each player places a domino in the line of play (end-to-end) when their turn comes up. When a player puts down a domino that makes the edge score a multiple of three or five, they get points for this.
Rules
There are many variations of domino games but most fall into four categories: bidding, blocking, drawing and scoring. Players take turns putting dominoes on the board (or picking one from the boneyard if they cannot go) until someone gets rid of all their tiles and wins the round.
The game begins with the winner of the previous hand making the first play. Then each player draws seven tiles and looks at them carefully without revealing them to their opponent. If a tile is misplaced and exposed it must be put on the correct end immediately.
The players then start a line of play, often using a double as a spinner to branch off the line, but the rules vary greatly between games. In some games the lines are asymmetrical, in others only a certain side of a domino may be played, and still in others all sides must match. A slow play rule requires each player to wait 15 seconds before pulling from the boneyard. If a player exceeds this time limit they must notify a UDL Official.
Materials
Over the centuries, many materials have been used to make dominoes. Modern sets are usually made from plastic or wood, although there is a vast number of specialty sets available in materials as diverse as ceramic clay and frosted glass. Traditionally, domino pieces were made from bone or ivory with a surface patterned with dots or markings that resemble the numbers on dice. Each side of the domino was marked with a number, a blank face, or both, and the entire piece was usually twice as long as it was wide to facilitate stacking.
In Europe, traditional sets were often made from silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or dark hardwoods such as ebony with a contrasting white or black finish for the pips. The pips may be inlaid or painted. Today, there are also a number of high-end wooden domino sets made by skilled craftsman that can command hefty prices for the level of artistry and labor that goes into their production.
Variations
There are many variations of the game domino. The most basic is Block, which requires a double-six set and is played for two players. The dominoes are shuffled and then each player draws seven tiles. These are placed on the table and laid on-edge so that only the player can see their own. Each tile has an identifying mark on one side and is blank or identically patterned on the other. The value of a domino is called its rank or weight and may be a number or a pip pattern.
Non-double dominoes have a big end and a small end, which is determined by subtracting the bigger end from the smaller end of each domino. Each time a domino is played, it must join an adjacent one at either of its ends. If a player cannot do so, they must pass and draw from the bone yard until they can. The game ends when a player can no longer play or the dominoes are blocked. Winners are awarded based on their remaining pip count.
Scoring
Some games of domino include scoring based on specific patterns or combinations of tiles played. Other games, such as Muggins, involve blocking opponents’ play and determining scores by counting the pips in their hands.
A domino is a flat thumb-sized rectangular block either blank or bearing one to six pips or dots: 28 such pieces form a complete set. A game involving these blocks may be played by matching their ends and laying them down in lines and angular patterns.
In this variation of the 5s-and-3s game, players score by attaching a new domino to an exposed end of those already laid, so that the sum of the numbers on both ends is a multiple of five or three. When the first player reaches a total of 61 points, he is declared out and receives a score equal to the sum of the pips in his opponents’ unplayed dominoes. Players can also keep a running total score on a cribbage board.
