Domino is a type of board game played by two to six players, or more. Typically played with a domino set (set of tiles), there are many variations of the game.
In general, the aim of a domino game is to place a number of dominos in a single row on the table. During a domino game, the player who can first set all of his or her dominoes in a row wins the game.
Some games use only a single domino to complete a layout while others require the use of multiple tiles. These can be blocking games, where a single tile is placed to block the next domino from being played; scoring games, where players attempt to add dominoes to a row in order to score points; or trick and trump games, where players attempt to make combinations that are not possible for other players to make.
One of the most popular types of domino games is the standard or “Block” game. Using a domino set of 28 tiles, the standard game begins by each player picking a single domino from the board and placing it on the table. The player must then play a tile from their hand that matches the value of the domino they just placed.
The next player then picks a domino from their own set of tiles and places it on the table, but must also pick a sleeping domino and place that on top of the original domino. The player can then pass his or her turn or continue to pick sleeping dominoes.
Another popular variation of the game is the “Draw” game, which is similar to the standard game, except that in the Draw game, a player can only take dominoes that match the values already on the table. They must also choose a sleeping domino when they cannot take any more, and place it on top of the domino they just took.
Most European-style domino sets are made from bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or a dark hardwood such as ebony. The pips of the dominoes are either inlaid or painted.
These sets are commonly made in the form of a rectangular box. They are sometimes carved, or inlaid with a decorative pattern, or they may be made from other materials such as ceramic clay or frosted glass.
The earliest known domino sets were made in Europe during the 18th century and have been found throughout the world. The game originated in Italy but quickly spread to Austria, southern Germany and France.
Dominoes are generally composed of a series of alternating colors and numbers, with each number having its own suit. The suit of a domino is defined as the combination of numbers that show on each side of the domino’s open ends.
Some specialized domino sets include a different number of pips on each end, which makes it easier to identify the tiles. These are often called extended sets and may be used in games with several players or for long domino games.