Dominoes – The Art of Playing Dominoes

Domino, also known as dominoes, are a type of game that involves arranging and then knocking over a series of rectangular tiles. The tiles can be stacked to form 2D structures such as lines and curves or arranged into 3D shapes such as towers and pyramids. In addition to being used for games, dominoes are also often used to create artistic displays.

Dominoes can be made from a variety of materials, including wood, bone or even polymer. They can be painted, carved, or etched. Typically, the ends of the tiles are marked with a pattern of dots called pips. These pips give the domino its identifying marks and are usually colored differently from the rest of the piece. Traditionally, dominoes have been made from bone (particularly silver lip oyster shell or MOP) and ivory, but they can also be crafted from a number of other materials, such as stone, metal, ceramic clay, or frosted glass. Alternatively, they can be made from a dark hardwood such as ebony, which gives the pieces a more substantial feel.

The basic domino set consists of 28 tiles that are shuffled and arranged face down into a square grid called the stock, or boneyard. Each player draws seven tiles from the stock and then sets them down in front of him or her. The resulting layout forms the basis for a number of different domino games, which can be blocked, scored or simply won through skill and chance.

In addition to the traditional blocking and scoring games, dominoes can be used to play solitaire and trick-taking games. These games were originally popular in some areas to circumvent religious prohibitions against playing cards. The most common domino games require a double-six set, which has one unique domino for each possible combination of end spots from one to six. More expensive domino sets may have more distinct combinations of ends, and some extendable sets increase the maximum number of pips on a single end to three, giving them the appearance of Arabic numerals.

Domino’s strategy of personalization has been a major factor in its growth. It is targeting four orders per customer, per year, and is focusing on expanding the number of franchise restaurants that offer its ordering platform. This approach requires Domino’s to make changes to its business model and to adapt its operations to meet changing consumer needs, but it has paid off in terms of increased profitability.

When Hevesh creates a domino display, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She begins by considering the theme or purpose of the display, then brainstorms images or words that might be incorporated into it. After that, she tests each section of the display, aiming to get it as close to perfect as possible. The largest sections of her creations can take several nail-biting minutes to fall into place, but once they do, the entire display comes together at once. Hevesh often films her tests in slow motion so that she can spot any errors and correct them before they become a problem.