Dominoes are small rectangular tiles used in a variety of games. They are also often referred to as bones, cards, spinners or tickets. They are commonly paired with dice to create an ancient form of gaming that can be played by a group of people.
The game of dominoes has a long history, dating back to Italy and the mid-18th century. Originally brought to England by French prisoners, it spread rapidly throughout Europe and eventually became popular in America.
A domino set is a collection of 28 different tile-like pieces that are usually black or white in color with numbers on each side. The most common set is the double-six, with a number from 0 (or blank) to 6 on each tile.
To play a game of dominoes, players must first shuffle the tiles. They then place them face down on the table and move them in a random pattern. Once all of the tiles are shuffled, each player must choose a tile from their “boneyard” that matches the current tile.
When a tile is placed, it must have a number on one or both ends of the domino chain, with the exception of a few special rules. If a tile has a number on both ends, it is said to be “stitched up.”
In most domino games, only the open ends of the tiles are considered for play. However, in some variants, a tile can be placed on any part of the layout. A double-six is sometimes positioned cross-ways in the layout, straddling the end of another tile.
The game of dominoes is played by two or more players who attempt to knock down all the tiles in their hand. The first player to lay down a domino with a matching number wins the game.
There are many different types of domino games and variations on the basic rules. Some involve laying down dominoes in a row, while others have players try to knock down all of their tiles before their opponents can.
Other variations involve placing dominoes edge-to-edge and comparing them to other dominoes, or to tiles that contain numbers that form a specified total. These are the most common games, and can be played by two or more players.
Typically, the player who has the highest score at the end of the game wins. This is determined by awarding points to each player based on the number of pips on their tiles.
A number of rules vary by game, but a few common ones are that players must not place more than seven tiles at a time on the table. They must also not use the same tile to match a tile that has been placed by another player.
In addition, players must not place a blank tile, since it will only be matched by other blank tiles. Some games allow blanks to count as 0 or 14, but these must be agreed upon prior to the game.
