A domino is a small rectangular wooden or plastic block with one side bearing an arrangement of dots resembling those on dice. It also has a blank or identically patterned other face. A domino set contains 28 pieces, and it can be used for a variety of games. Other names for dominoes include bones, cards, tiles, tickets, or spinners. A person who plays with dominoes is often called a domino player or simply a dominoer.
A Domino effect occurs when a single action or event causes many other actions to happen in succession, just like the falling of dominoes. This effect can be seen in a number of areas, from political events to personal relationships to business management. A Domino leader is someone who understands the importance of taking responsibility for their actions and making decisions with a long-term view in mind.
The most basic Western domino games are blocking or drawing games for two to four players, in which each player in turn places a domino edge to edge against another, such that their adjacent faces match either identically (e.g., five to five) or form some specified total (e.g., 12). The remaining pieces are known as the stock or boneyard. The winner is the player whose partners have combined totals of the most pips in their remaining dominoes.
These games can be played with any size or shape of domino, although most people prefer the traditional double-six set. Some sets are “extended” by adding additional ends with more pips, which greatly increases the number of possible combinations and thus the number of pieces. The most common extended sets are double-nine, double-12, and double-15.
Unlike blocking or drawing games, some domino games are scoring games in which players accrue points for certain configurations, moves, or emptying their hand. These games are generally adapted from card or trick-taking games, which were popular in some regions as a way to circumvent religious prohibitions against playing cards.
When Hevesh creates her mind-blowing domino setups, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She starts by considering the theme or purpose of the installation, then brainstorms images or words she might want to use. Once she’s determined what the setup will be, she assembles all of the dominoes and connects them in a way that best illustrates the desired concept. The final product is a stunning display of the power of cause and effect.