Domino is a popular table game. It was first known in Italy, and later spread to France, England, and other countries. There are many different versions of domino, but the basic premise is the same: two players try to make the most stable tower they can. The players begin the game with three or four dominos and take turns adding new ones to the tower. Eventually the tower falls and the game ends.

A domino has a rectangular tile that is marked with a series of spots called “pips”. Originally, the spots represented the result of a roll of two six-sided dice. In some games, the pips may be used to make a pattern. For example, tiles at right angles can make an L in the layout. Other variants of the game allow the pieces to be joined to all four sides of the domino.

Dominoes can be found in various sizes, shapes, and colors. Some are plain while others have a line down the middle. They are usually about a centimeter wide, and are about an inch in length. Most are made from wood, though ivory, bone, and mother of pearl shell are also used. However, they are normally made from dark hardwoods, such as ebony.

Each tile has a number, either an individual number or a set of numbers. For instance, the 0-6 tile is in the zero suit. Several other dominos are blank on one side. These are used in some games to allow a player to rap the table while placing dominoes.

When the tower falls, the winner is the player with the lowest total score, which is determined by the number of pips in the losing player’s hand. In some variants, the game also includes a scoring system where the winning player counts the pips in the losing players’ hands.

Dominoes come in a variety of shapes, depending on the player’s preference. This is dictated by the constraints of the playing surface. If the playing surface is too narrow, a domino will be laid on an angle. Likewise, if the play surface is too wide, a domino will be placed on an edge.

A common domino is two inches in length and an inch in width. The most common set has numbers ranging from 0-6. The double-18 set has 190 tiles, and the double-12 set has 91. Another common set is the double-nine set, which has 55 tiles. Alternatively, there is the double-15 set, which has 136 tiles.

Before the game starts, the players must agree on a target score. During the game, the players take turns picking dominoes from the stock. Once each player has picked seven, they shuffle their hand. Then, the last player draws a single domino. Depending on the version of the game, the last player can either lay the domino or chip it out.

Traditionally, the dominos are made from ivory, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell, or bone. Many traditional games, such as Pai Gow and Tien Gow, use dominoes. Others, such as Mexican train and chicken foot, duplicate card games.