Dominoes are pieces of wood used in various games. They are also known as “bones,” “tickets,” and “spinners.” They are usually rectangular in shape and have a line down the middle. They are traditionally made of dark hardwood such as ebony or ivory.
To begin a domino game, a player must choose a number of tiles to start with. Then the player will shuffle the set of tiles and lay them down face down on the table. The dominoes can be placed in a variety of positions, such as in rows or on an incline. Once they are on the table, the dominoes must be played in order to win. The player who has the fewest pips wins.
The dominoes are normally twice as long as they are wide. They are divided into two squares, called ends, with the end of the row being blank. The dominoes have a set of spots, which are marked on one side.
A single tile is marked as belonging to a suit, ranging from 0 to 6. A pair of dominoes are often stacked on top of each other in a line. In a long row, the dominoes can be knocked down by flicking the end of the domino over the other. The first domino in the row to tip over causes the next domino to tip over. This continues until all dominoes have fallen.
When a player has completed a row of dominoes, they must then knock or rap them down on the table. If a player does not have the piece that he needs, he can pick it from a stock of pieces. In the United States, some people call the pieces that are left behind a boneyard.
The most common domino sets are double six and double nine. Each set contains a total of 55 and 190 dominos, respectively. They are typically played with three or four players.
A double-nine domino set is a good choice for games with three or four players. However, if a set of this size is used, the game will take a lot of time to set up. This is because the number of tiles that must be picked is larger. For this reason, a double-nine set would not be appropriate for most domino games.
The most popular type of domino game is the scoring game, or block-and-draw. This is a two- to four-player game where the players choose a number of tiles to start with. Each player then tries to knock down their dominoes to the other player.
Another variant of the game is the Concentration game. In this version, the lead player plays the highest-valued domino in the set. After the lead player has finished laying down his dominoes, the next player must pick a sleeping domino. This means that the rest of the game will continue without the lead player.
A domino chain can be built in any direction. The direction depends on the limitations of the playing surface. For example, the line down the middle of a domino chain is only a requirement in the Concentration variant.