Dominoes is an ensemble of multi-game tile-based board games, most commonly called dominoes. Each domino is normally a square tile with a flat, thin line splitting the face into two equally sized squares. All the squares are either completely blank or have a variety of pre-printed number of holes. The game ends when all the tiles are either lined up vertically or horizontally, with one tile occupying the empty diagonal space. Dominoes can be played in one of two ways: by taking turns and randomly picking a tile, or by choosing each player individually and then choosing a tile.
In the standard game of dominoes, each player receives two dominoes from the dealer and each player is given three free tiles to begin the game. The tiles can be placed anywhere on the board, though the majority of dominoes are upright and lie flush against the board. Some different board layouts include extra dominoes in the middle layer, or even an extra tile on the edge layer. Dominoes are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, but each shape has its own set of rules and variation of play. Commonly played in two-person teams of two, four, six, eight or twelve players, dominoes are often incorporated into other party games where two or more players compete to reach the end goal before the others, sometimes using special dominoes to represent different tile sets.
Dominoes are usually played with the two halves of a circle, with each half representing a different number of tiles. If any of the dominoed tiles to either side of the circle is turned over, the orientation of the rest of the dominoed tiles are changed, and the new arrangement determines the winner. Dominoes are played in rounds, with the first player taking turns until there are no tiles remaining. Then each player gets a turn at making the first move, and the last player in the game becomes the new “queen” who may take one tile and place it next to her domino tile, or may take any tile she already has and place it beside another player’s domino tile.
domino games are much faster to play than other games using piles of numbered tiles. This is because all tiles are on the board for every turn, and adding new tiles to the board is as simple as flipping over the pile of tiles. The pieces also do not need to be lined up correctly – in a standard game, the placement of straight domino tiles is predetermined, but in multi-player games each player chooses the locations of their tiles. In addition, all tiles are accessible, so players can choose which tiles they wish to place. The result is that domino games are fast and enjoyable to play.
Domino games teach valuable table manners. In a standard game of domino where each person places one tile, there are a limited amount of possible relationships among the tiles. After all, only two tiles can be placed next to one another, leaving four possibilities. In a multi-player game, however, each person chooses a tile to place next and this makes it easier to identify which tiles a player belongs to. It also makes it easier for someone to surrender a tile to the other if it is in their hand and they do not want it anymore.
Dominoes are a fun, inexpensive way to enjoy a game of skill. They are quick and easy to learn, and a beginner can quickly master the techniques needed to gain an advantage over the other domino players. With these considerations in mind, it is a good idea for anyone to get started playing with domino tiles. With time and practice, the right habits will come naturally and you’ll soon be enjoying hours of entertainment, all while thinking about the relationships among your domino tiles!