The Basics of Domino
Domino is a game of skill and strategy where players place dominoes on the table edge to edge in a line or a zigzag pattern, with each domino bearing a number of spots or dots. Each player takes a turn placing a domino of his or her choice and the first to topple a domino in a line wins the round. The first domino to fall also determines the order of play for the rest of the round. The player that wins the round is awarded points or a point value for each piece in his or her chain.
A domino is a small, rectangular wood or plastic block that is thumbsized and normally twice as long as wide. Its face is divided into two parts, each bearing from one to six dots resembling those on dice, with some squares being blank or marked by the arrangement of dots (called “pips”). The total value of the pips on either side of a domino is its rank or weight. A rank of zero means that the domino is “blank” or a “zero,” while the highest rank, a double-six, indicates a domino that has six pips on each end and can be played only by touching a domino with a matching number of pips. There are several kinds of domino games, including positioning and scoring games. Some are adaptations of card games and were once popular in areas to circumvent religious prohibitions against playing cards.
Some of the best-known domino games include block, draw and slapjack. Depending on the type of game, the dominoes may be placed in a “stock” that is shuffled before each player draws. The stock is then used to establish the initial domino position for the game and, if necessary, break ties. The player with the highest domino in the stock then seats himself at the table and, in a partnership game, his partner sits to his right.
The pips on a domino are normally used to determine its ranking, but in some games the total number of dominoes is also an important factor. Most domino sets have six pips on both ends, but the most common dominoes are double-six; the more pips a set has on each end, the greater its rank or weight.
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