Domino is a game of chance and skill where players arrange dominoes in a line to build a chain of matching tiles. They must ensure that each tile has a match on either side and that the two matching ends are adjacent or touching. The shape of the chain develops as it is built. It may become a straight line or it may become snake-like. This is part of the pleasure of domino.
There are many different games that can be played with domino. The most common ones involve positioning the tiles edge to edge against each other so that their numbers match or form some specified total. The first player to do this takes a turn, and the next person places one tile onto another until all of the dominoes are arranged. The player with the highest total at the end of a game wins. In some scoring games, the players accrue points throughout the game for certain configurations or moves.
The game originated in Italy and France in the early 18th Century. It was brought to Britain, possibly by French prisoners of war, and quickly became a fad in inns and taverns. There are some games that require only a standard domino set of 28 tiles, but the most popular ones involve a double-twelve or double-nine set of 91 or 55 dominoes respectively. With the larger sets, four players play against each other.
A typical domino set has a number of different colored dots on each domino. Some of the dots are colored black, while others are white. Each color has a particular significance in the game. For example, the white dominoes can be used to build chains, while the black dominoes are primarily used to create blocks that block other players from taking turns.
In addition to the number of dominoes in a set, there are a few rules that govern how the game is played. For instance, the first player to lay a domino must call “domino” before it is placed. After the domino is laid, all other players must say a number from 1 to 7 in order to have an opportunity to pick up the domino. Often, players will only have seven of the nine possible dominoes in their hand during a game.
Whether you’re building a chain of dominoes or writing a story, it’s important to have a clear plan in mind before starting to build. A detailed outline or use of a writing program like Scrivener can help you stay on track. If you’re a pantser, that is, you don’t make outlines or plot ahead of time, you may find yourself with scenes that don’t fit together and aren’t relevant to the story. Using a tool like scene cards can help you weed out the scenes that aren’t working and keep your momentum going.
