Dominoes are small, rectangular blocks used as gaming objects. Variously referred to as bones, pieces, cards, men, or stones, they are usually made of rigid material such as wood or bone and have an identity-bearing side that is patterned with black or white dots or squares (see Image below). Some modern sets use plastic to make dominoes; these may be colored or etched for a more attractive appearance. Other materials that have been used to make dominoes include silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother-of-pearl), ivory, and dark hardwoods such as ebony. The most common type of domino has 28 identical pieces arranged in two rows, with each piece bearing the same arrangement of pips as those on a six-sided die.
Most people know of domino as a game that involves laying down dominoes in a line and then knocking them over, but there are many other ways to play with these small rectangles. For example, some people create art with dominoes by arranging them into straight lines or curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, stacked walls, and 3D structures such as towers or pyramids. Others set them up to play games such as blocking or scoring.
Hevesh uses a version of the engineering-design process to create her mind-blowing domino installations. She starts by thinking of a theme or purpose for the installation, then brainstorms images and words that might be related to that theme. Then she tests each part of the installation separately. If she discovers that a section does not work correctly, she can make changes before putting the whole display together.
The word “domino” comes from the Latin for a hood worn with a mask at masquerades. It was probably adopted in the late 18th century to describe a game played with an oblong board, a table, and domino pieces.
A traditional domino set has 28 identical pieces arranged in two rows, each with a number of dots or squares on one end. The smallest unique piece has one spot on each end; the highest value is six, which gives the set its name, a double-six set. Additional values are added to the ends of other domino pieces, creating a variety of different kinds of dominoes.
In addition to blocking and scoring games, many other types of dominoes are played, such as solitaire or trick-taking games. These are adapted from card games and were once popular in some areas to circumvent religious proscriptions against playing cards.
Many of these games require careful planning to achieve a certain outcome. For example, in some domino games, players must look through a boneyard of dominoes to find and lay down a domino that matches the value of the first domino placed on the ground. The player who succeeds in making all their dominoes match up wins the game. This game can be highly addictive, and it is no wonder that dominoes are still so popular after more than a century of existence!