Domino is both the name of a game and its terminology for small rectangular wooden or plastic blocks marked with spots resembling dice. A domino can be used to form either straight or crooked lines of blocks, or three-dimensional structures such as towers and pyramids. A typical domino measures twice its width with one end bearing dots which correspond with its rank in double six sets while its opposite end may remain blank or have different coloring.
A domino game can be enjoyed with one or multiple players, depending on its rules of play. These rules dictate how pieces should be placed on the table and its maximum length; typically a domino is considered “matched” when its two matching ends touch completely; otherwise it is known as doubles/leads and placed face down; when this cannot happen it becomes known as double/lead and played out of turn as part of existing chains.
As each domino falls, much of its potential energy converts to kinetic energy (the energy of motion) which pushes down on its neighboring domino until all tiles have fallen and sent shuddering through the line.
Chain reactions apply the same principle. One event leads to another and eventually your leg twitches due to this domino effect of neurons in your brain firing off, like it happened with you leg. One domino or neuron sets off this chain reaction which ends up making its way out through all subsequent dominoes in its path.
Similar effects occur when someone sets up a large arrangement of dominoes and then steps back and watches them fall, such as when American artist Faith Hevesh set a Guinness World Record by using over 76,000 dominoes arranged circularly – this record stands today as of November 2018. She employs an engineering-design process when creating these mind-boggling setups: considering themes or purposes behind installations before brainstorming words or images they might incorporate.
There are various dominoes games to be enjoyed, with different rules depending on which domino game is being played. Some require that a player select his or her highest double from his hand to determine who initiates play; this is known as setting or downing. Other domino games require that after every play they draw new tiles from their stock known as byes; their number added to your remaining tiles when adding up your total of remaining pips before adding new dominoes drawn back in at the next round. Eventually when all dominoes have fallen the game will end; in a contest of skill, the one who manages to draw more valuable byes may emerge victorious!