The Basics of Domino
Domino (plural dominoes) is a game that involves laying down flat, rectangular pieces in a series of lines and angular patterns. The pieces, which are shaped like dice or playing cards, can be matched together and used to play various games.
Originally, dominoes were small wooden blocks divided by a line down their middle. Each end was either blank or had a number of spots, called pips, and they were commonly arranged in sets of 28. These sets were also known as “double six” sets.
They were introduced to Europe in the late 1700s and soon spread. Unlike Chinese dominoes, European dominoes were not distinguished by military-civilian suits but rather by their value. The highest-ranked dominoes in the set were deemed to have the greatest value.
These tiles were used in a variety of games, including a block game where the player tried to keep each side of the board intact. Another popular game involved matching pairs of tiles to create a sequence of five or six numbers.
The name dominoes is a portmanteau of domino and cloak, meaning “hooded cape.” In both English and French, the word is believed to have its origin in a long hooded cape worn by a priest over his surplice at a masquerade.
There are many variations of the game, but the most common is based on a double-six set. The 28 tiles are shuffled face down to form a stock or boneyard, and each player draws seven from the stock, placing them on the edge in front of him or her.
This makes it easier for players to see how many of their own tiles are left in their hands and which tiles are left in the opponent’s. This is one of the main reasons for playing double-six sets in most games.
In a variant of the game called Concentration, two tiles are considered to match if their total pip count is 12. The players then score points for each tile that matches and lose points for each tile that doesn’t.
These points are added together to determine the winner of a game. The winning player can then use the points to buy new tiles.
The domino effect is the phenomenon that occurs when a change to one behavior leads to a change in related behaviors. This can be a positive or negative effect.
A domino effect is created when an individual changes his or her habits, such as exercising or eating healthier food, and the result is a chain reaction that causes other similar behaviors to be affected. For example, a 2012 study found that when participants decreased their sedentary leisure time, they also decreased their fat intake.
Likewise, when a person changes his or her habits in writing, such as focusing on specific plot beats and editing them to improve clarity and flow, it can cause other aspects of the work to improve. For example, when a writer reworks a chapter to make it stronger, he or she is not only editing the words themselves but the entire story.