Domino is a game that uses a series of small rectangular blocks, each bearing two groups of dots, resembling those on dice. The dominos are used to mark points in a game of chance or strategy, and they may be played as a solo or team activity. Dominos can be made from a variety of materials, including plastic, metal and ceramic clay. Some sets are hand-painted, while others are etched, inlaid, or decorated with relief designs. A domino set can also include a bag to store and protect the tiles. A domino game can be played with as few as ten pieces or as many as hundreds.
The first domino player places one of his or her tiles on the table. Then, in turn, each player must play a tile onto the table positioning it so that the open end of the new tile matches one of the ends of the previous tile. This creates a line of dominoes that is called the layout, string or line of play. As each tile is played, the domino chain grows in length.
After a domino is played, its pips are counted to determine the score of the player. Some games are designed to make a specific number appear, while others are scored based on the total of all the pips in the layout. The most popular domino games fall into four categories: bidding games, blocking games, scoring games, and round games.
A domino artist is someone who works to create intricate domino arrangements that are not only visually appealing but also functional. These displays are not only for show, as they can be used to set a record or simply to amuse the crowd. A domino artist has a creative eye and a great deal of patience to work with such a challenging medium.
Hevesh has created a world record with a circle of dominoes that took nearly six minutes to topple, and she also holds the Guinness World Record for the most dominoes arranged in a circular arrangement. Hevesh says that while there are a lot of tricks to her work, there is one physical phenomenon that is crucial: gravity.
The most common domino sets are double-six (28 tiles) and double-nine (55 tiles). Larger sets are sometimes available, but these are mostly used for playing long domino games, since there are few rules for such games. Most dominoes feature a single suit of numbers, but some are multi-suited. Some examples are the double-five, the double-eight, and the double-zero.