A domino is a rectangular piece of wood or bone marked with an arrangement of spots, which are either blank or pipped. In the European style, dominoes are usually made of ivory or dark hardwood such as ebony.
There are several types of dominoes, each with its own unique character. They are commonly used for playing games. Some games use them as tiles, which can be stacked on each other, and others are used as spinners, which can be knocked down or pushed forward with increasing force.
The first recorded Western dominoes were made in mid-18th century France and Italy. These were brought to England by prisoners of war, and in the late 1700s, the dominoes began to spread to other countries.
Most dominoes are divided into two squares, called ends. Depending on the size of the set, the two end pieces may be blank, or they may be pipped. This allows for 28 unique pieces that each form one of seven different faces.
While some of the traditional Chinese domino sets are 32-piece sets that represent each possible face of two thrown dice, European dominoes are usually made of ivory, ebony, or mother of pearl oyster shells. Their pips can be a number, a suit, or a combination of the two.
Dominoes are also used for study purposes. Some scientists have found that the patterns of the pips on the dominoes can reveal information about nerve cells. Also, when dominoes are knocked down, they create a chain reaction, which is akin to a firing neuron. If you remove a domino, you can mimic the effects of a severe nerve injury.
Dominoes are popular among children, who can play various games with them. They can be used for trick-taking games, and they can be used for fun and entertaining domino courses. Typically, each player draws seven tiles from a supply of stock. It can take a long time to set up the course, though.
For more complex games, it is common to use a larger set of dominoes, such as a double-12 or a double-18. These are large enough to support multiple players and allow for branching. However, they can be so large that they would be incompatible with most domino games.
A typical domino game begins with the player drawing seven tiles from a stock. Each tile is assigned a number and suit. If the numbers are the same, the tiles are arranged edge-to-edge in a row. If there are different numbers, each tile is placed next to its corresponding number. As the course is laid out, the players can see what each opponent has and see how their tiles match.
When the dominoes are stacked on end in a long row, they can be pushed forward by the person in the front. Once the first one is tipped, the entire line falls, starting a chain reaction.
Although dominoes can be used for a variety of fun games, their most popular uses are for scoring and positional games. One of these games is called 5s-and-3s, which involves the player scoring points by dividing a series of “ends” into tiles. Another is called Five-Up, which is played with multicolored tiles.