Domino is a versatile game and a fun way for children to practice their number skills. Kids can learn about addition, subtraction, and pattern recognition while playing with domino. The game also helps develop patience and strategic thinking. Many people enjoy lining up dominoes in long rows and then knocking them over.
The word domino has several meanings and origins, from both the Latin dominus (“lord”) and the English “dominant.” The name Domino’s history is as obscure as the game itself. The first known use of the term was in 1750, but it may have been used even earlier than that. It may be that the term originally denoted a hooded cloak worn together with a mask during carnival season or at a masquerade. The cloak’s black color contrasted with the white surplice of priests, making it easy to see how it came to be associated with a domino piece.
Dominoes are a cousin of playing cards and one of the oldest tools for game play. They originated in China in the 1300s and have been played in many ways over the centuries. The markings on dominoes, called pips, originally represented the results of throwing two six-sided dice. The earliest dominoes were made from bone or wood and carved from ivory, but modern sets are usually molded from plastic.
Most commercial domino sets are double-six, with 28 tiles. Larger sets exist for more complicated games and those who enjoy a more lengthy game. Each domino has a number of pips or spots, usually in alternating colors, on each half of its face. The number of pips on the left half of a domino’s face is called its value, while the number of pips on the right half is its rank. The value and rank of a domino are related, as higher numbers indicate a stronger or more valuable tile.
Each set of dominoes features a variety of games that can be played with it. Most of these games involve blocking other players’ play, with scoring being a secondary concern. Blocking games include matador, chicken foot, and Mexican train. Scoring games are also common, and often duplicate card games.
Many of the most popular domino games are based on pattern matching. For example, in a concentration game adapted from card games, players try to match pairs of dominoes that have the same number of pips on each end. A pair of matching dominoes is considered to have a value equal to the sum of the values of the individual pieces.
For more complex games, players can build up a domino layout by adding tiles from the boneyard until there are no more to add. This allows them to play blocking and scoring games, as well as a variety of other layout-based games. To make this possible, most domino sets are extended by introducing ends with more pips or by using more readable Arabic numerals instead of pips. A typical extension is a double-twelve or double-nine set, with 91 or 55 tiles respectively.