Domino – A Game of Chance and Skill

Domino is a game of chance and skill where players score points by laying dominoes end to end so that the exposed dots total a multiple of five. A player wins a round by playing all of his or her tiles and thus claiming all the points on that line before his opponents do. Most domino games are played with a standard set of twenty-eight tiles, although larger sets exist for the more serious players. A standard domino set consists of two types of dominoes: a single-spot or “blank” suit and a double-spot or “number” suit.

Typically, dominoes are made of ceramic clay or wood, with a contrasting color of white or black on each end. The most common commercially available domino sets are double six and double nine, although larger sets do exist for those wanting to play longer domino chains. The standard set is traditionally shuffled before play starts. Each player draws a hand of seven dominoes, and then plays a tile by placing it on the table so that its exposed ends touch (one’s touch one’s or two’s touch two’s).

The first person to play all of their tiles wins the round. In some cases, the player may need to draw from another player’s boneyard (the stock of remaining dominoes), but this is generally only done when they cannot find a matching tile. The next player then plays their tiles, continuing in turn until the entire group is played or neither player can play.

Dominoes are also used in other games, such as poker and backgammon. Generally, these are more complicated than the basic domino game. In poker and backgammon, each tile has a number printed on it. The number can be in any of the four suits (number, spade, heart, diamond) or a blank suit. The number and the suit of each tile are recorded on a domino card, which is then compared with the opponent’s cards. The person whose cards have the highest value wins.

The most advanced domino players create intricate designs in order to challenge themselves and impress their friends with the power of the game. For example, a domino artist named Hevesh has created some mind-blowing displays that feature tens of thousands of dominoes. Hevesh says that one physical phenomenon is essential to her projects: gravity. When a domino is knocked over, much of its potential energy converts to kinetic energy, propelling the next domino toward Earth and setting off a chain reaction.

Hevesh has found that it is important to make sure each domino in a design works individually. She tests each piece of the domino installation before putting it together. She makes test versions of each section, including the biggest 3-D sections, and films them in slow motion to catch any glitches.

One of the most popular Domino’s marketing campaigns was their “Think golbal, act local” slogan, which was used to emphasize the importance of listening to customers and responding to their concerns. This approach seems to be working, as Domino’s is one of the top places to work in the Detroit area.