Originally known as the “masquerade mask,” the domino (also spelled as Domino) is a small, rectangular block, usually twice as long as it is wide. Each tile is marked with a number, a digit, or a symbol and a few pips. The game of dominoes has been around for centuries, and has a number of variations.
The most popular of these variants is a scoring game. In this game, each player tries to get the most points by lining up tiles edge to edge and playing them into tricks. Each trick is worth one point. Each player gets seven tiles to begin the game. A total of 12 pips is needed to win. In addition to this, players must occupy all the other sides of the spinner, which is called the Chicken Foot.
The domino was brought to England by French prisoners during the mid-18th century. The game spread to Italy, France, Austria, and Germany. The first European dominoes were made of dark hardwood such as ebony and ivory. In some cases, the pieces were carved into shapes, such as a priest’s cloak.
The most basic variation of the game is a two-player version. Each player draws seven tiles from a stock of 28. The goal is to make a line of six or seven dominoes, or doubles. A double consists of two identical dominoes, which can be arranged on all four sides of a board. The first domino in the line is flipped with a finger and the second domino is flipped with a hinge.
The other main type of game is one in which the dominoes are stacked on end in a row. The shortest domino in a line can fall, causing the next domino to tip over. To prevent this from happening, the second domino should be attached to a ruler with a hinge.
There are also variants in which the dominoes are curved, such as Bendomino. These dominoes have a different set of rules. They are played with multicolored tiles. A single tile in the set is considered a member of the suit of threes, but the rest of the tiles are blank.
There are other kinds of dominoes, such as the ones used in Pai Gow. They are similar to the Chinese dominoes, except that the Chinese do not require matching. They are divided into a set of 32 tiles, each representing the possible faces of two thrown dice. Unlike the Western dominoes, the Chinese do not have a suit distinction, which means that each domino has an equal value. This makes them more difficult to identify.
There are several games of dominoes, including trick-taking, layout, and blocking. Some variants of these games involve taking turns to knock down the other player’s tiles. They are also popular among children.
The name “domino” comes from the Italian and Spanish word dominus, which means “black” or “blackest.” In the mid-18th century, the game was introduced in France, Italy, and Germany. The word was first recorded in the Dictionnaire de Trevoux in 1771. In the 1860s, the game appeared in American literature.