Dominos are small, rectangular pieces of wood, plastic, or bone, with a black and white undersurface and a line down the middle. They are played for several different games. The most popular is scoring games, though there are many variations, such as trick-taking, block-and-draw, and layout. Some children also prefer to play them as a toy.
Dominos have been around for a long time. The first recorded use of the word is in the Dictionnaire de Trevoux in 1771, but the name dates back much earlier. In the mid-18th century, dominoes were introduced to England by French prisoners of war. Some of the most common types are based on Chinese dominos, which were known in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
European-style dominoes are made of dark hardwood, such as ebony, ivory, or mother-of-pearl oyster shell. Some are blank, while others are engraved with a pips-based arrangement of dots.
Dominoes are commonly used for boardgames. They are grouped together in sets of twenty-eight or more. They can be lined up in rows or stacked on the ends, like dice. They are arranged for variety of games, such as Five-Up, Pai Gow, Che Deng, and Tien Gow. They can be played against a computer or a friend.
Dominos are usually twice the width of their length. They are marked with a line down the middle and a pips-based arrangement on each side. The player whose domino has the fewest pips wins. In some variants, the player whose tile has the highest total pip count plays the lead piece.
Most of the traditional domino sets are referred to as “double six” sets. The smallest is a double-nine set, which has 55 tiles. They are generally more suitable for games with multiple players, but they are also available in other, larger sizes. Some large domino sets are based on Arabic numerals instead of pips.
Traditionally, dominoes are made of dark hardwood, ivory, or bone. Some European-style sets are crafted of silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell. Unlike Chinese dominoes, which are carved with pips, European-style tiles are made of ivory or bone.
Dominoes have a lot of nicknames, including tickets, bones, and tiles. In French, the name was originally derived from a masquerade mask. However, it has evolved to include a variety of other meanings. In American literature, it was often referred to as a “masquerade cape”.
Although a domino is considered a toy, it is often seen as a game. It is a common adaptation of the card game. Its name is often attributed to the black undersurface of its tile.
Despite its obscure origins, the game has proven popular around the world. In fact, it was a popular fad in France in the mid-18th century, which spread to other areas in Europe and later to the United States. Most domino games are versions of boardgames, which are adapted from the card game.
The most basic domino variants are for two to four players. The most commonly-played domino games are those that involve scoring. They are based on the card game, but they are usually played with a fixed number of tiles.