Domino is a popular family of flat tile-based board games, also known as domino tiles. Each domino is typically a square, rectangular tile having a straight line dividing it into two equally square ends. Each end of the domino is either blank or marked with a series of numbers. Dominoes can be played with one or more players at a time, and the number and placement of the tiles on the board depend upon the number and placement of players. Dominoes are often made with several different game sets, each with different sets of tiles.
One of the most traditional types of dominoes, the “normal” version, has tiles evenly distributed across the board in the same pattern that traditional dominoes are made. Dominoes also come in several specialty varieties. There are ten-sided dominoes, called a “ten-sided” game, and seven-sided dominoes, called a “seven-sided” game. Specialty domino sets include, but are not limited to the following: doubles, triskells, two-sided, jacks, and triples.
Dominoes, like most other games of strategy, are best played with at least four players. The first player chooses a point value, usually half a dollar (half a pound) for the largest domino, half a coin (a far less valuable denomination). Then each player receives five cards face down. When the domino is rolled over, each player receives one card and loses one additional card facedown.
Dominoes are played using a domino game board similar to those found in many public libraries. Dominoes are arranged in a pile, from one to four in height, with one card placed above the stack ahead of the stack from where it started. The object of the game is to accumulate as many cards as possible to complete the set. For example, if there are ten dominoes, you would place one card from the top of the stack, face up, in front of the ten dominoes on your table. The next domino, in line, would be placed directly below this card. And so on, until all the domino sets are covered; you have completed the first circle.
Because domino tiles can be folded, some variants include a variation where tiles can be placed upside down (for example, the seven-sided domino can be flipped over into a double-six). A variation called double-sided domino tiles allows you to place the tile you want to cover onto two tiles adjacent to the original two. This is referred to as the “double-sided” variety. While it accomplishes the same goal of covering multiple domino sets, the tiles placed onto these sets are of a different size and shape than those used in the original game. For example, instead of using regular-sized domino tiles, you can use small gold domino tiles, which are much harder and more durable than their regular-sized counterparts.
Domino tiles can be divided up into several categories, depending on how they are played. For example, some people play a game with only four players, called a four-person domino game. In this type of game, each player controls four pieces and can place them anywhere on the board they like, as long as they all make it to the finish line. Other people prefer playing games with more than four players, called multi-player domino games.