Dominoes are like dice or playing cards in that a wide variety of games can be played with them. A domino is a rectangular tile with a line down its middle and a number of dots on each end–called pips–that are used to identify it as a unique piece in a particular set. Each player in turn plays a tile onto the table, positioning it so that its adjacent edges touch other dominoes and that their sum forms some specified total. A chain of dominoes develops with each new tile added to the game, and the person who has the last tile in the line is declared the winner.
Dominos are usually arranged in a line on a flat surface with one side of each domino facing down. The first domino is placed on the edge of the line, and the rest of the tiles are positioned around it. The next domino is then pushed down on top of it, and so on, until the entire line falls. This can be a thrilling experience, especially when large domino chains are involved.
The game of dominoes has a long history, dating back to at least the 12th or 13th century in China. It was probably introduced to Europe during the 1700’s, and it spread quickly throughout Italy where it became popular in pubs and family homes. Early Italian dominoes were based on the traditional 28-piece set that is still used today, but they differ from Western sets in that each domino originally represented each of the 21 possible outcomes of two thrown dice. In addition, the Chinese dominoes did not have blank faces and had only one suit with five different pips on each end.
A typical domino set contains 28 tiles shuffled together and called the stock or boneyard. Then, each player draws seven tiles from this stock to form their hand. Depending on the game, these tiles may then be placed on-edge in front of the players or face up in a row. This allows the players to see the value of their own tiles, but not that of the opponents’. As the game becomes more complicated, some tiles are replaced with more readable Arabic numerals to make it easier to count the pips.
When a player cannot play a new tile to add to the chain, they “knock” on the table and pass the turn to the opposing team. When the play stops and no more dominoes can be laid, the winners are determined by comparing the combined number of all of the pips on each remaining player’s remaining dominoes.
Creating stunning domino setups takes meticulous planning and a firm grasp of the laws of physics. Hevesh’s largest installations take several nail-biting minutes to complete as each domino must fall exactly in the right place and direction. Hevesh builds test versions of each part of her displays and films them in slow motion to make precise corrections before putting the final pieces together.