Domino is a game of chance and skill in which players place rectangular tiles on the edge of a table. Each tile has a number of dots, called spots or pips, on its two sides. A tile may have a single number or several numbers, and it may also have no pips. The value of each spot on a domino is determined by the combination of the pips on both its adjacent sides. A domino with a number on both its ends has the most value, while a blank (zero) domino has the least. The most common domino sets have 28 tiles, although larger and smaller sets exist for special purposes.
Dominoes are normally twice as long as they are wide, which makes them easy to stack on one another in lines. When one of these tiles is tipped over, it causes the others to tip in sequence until the entire row collapses. These chains of falling dominoes are the inspiration behind the phrase “domino effect,” which is used to describe any series of events that cascade from one simple action to much greater and sometimes catastrophic consequences.
A game of dominoes consists of several rounds. A player begins a round by placing one of his or her pieces down on the table. Each successive piece placed by the player is added to the previous ones until all of the tiles are arranged in an order that corresponds to a specified set of rules. Some games use the number of pips on each side as a ranking system, while others simply require that all tiles match in a certain way, such as that they have a single value or form a particular total.
In some games, the winning player is the first to play all of his or her tiles. In other games, a player is rewarded for playing all of his or her tiles by having the highest score at the end of the round. Some of the most popular games involve the use of multiple sets of dominoes, where each player has a different color or type of tile that is used only once in the game.
Many people use dominoes to create works of art. These can include straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, stacked walls, and 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. People also design domino tracks, with arrows that show the path that the dominoes will take as they tumble down.
In his book on the history of Domino’s Pizza, Mark Brandon writes that when the company was in trouble, CEO Dominick Doyle stayed true to the Domino’s core values. For example, Doyle emphasized that the company should “Champion Our Customers,” and focused on keeping lines of communication open with employees. This approach worked: the company quickly turned things around by implementing new policies such as relaxed dress codes and new leadership training programs. Moreover, Doyle’s focus on listening to customer feedback helped the Domino’s brand remain strong during difficult times.
