Domino is the name of a game played with gaming pieces called dominoes. The pieces are rectangular, with a line or ridge dividing their face into two square ends, each marked with an arrangement of dots (also known as “pips”). The backs of the tiles in a set are blank or identically patterned. Dominoes can be made of bone, wood, or even carved ivory.
Whenever someone plays a domino, it causes a chain of tiles to build up, growing in length. The end of each domino that is being placed must touch either another domino or a piece of the table. Usually, the player places a tile that has a number showing on one of its ends. The other end can be a blank tile or one that shows an unused number. If a player makes a mistake, it may ruin the whole domino chain by making the last domino on the chain unusable.
A domino chain can also be used to perform certain tricks in games like chess, where the goal is to place pieces so that they reach a specific location on the board. This strategy is often referred to as a “trick,” and it can be particularly important in a chess match where players are trying to capture the opponent’s king.
In addition to games, dominoes can be used for artistic purposes. Some artists use them to create intricate structures, such as buildings or sculptures. Other artists focus on using them to tell a story or make an impression. For example, some artists like to place a series of dominoes that show the destruction of a city.
The term “domino effect” also refers to any action that causes other events to follow in a similar pattern. For example, Admiral William H. McRaven once told graduates at University of Texas that the first thing they should do to achieve a good life is to make their bed in the morning.
When Lily Hevesh, an artist who specializes in domino art, creates her mind-blowing setups, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She considers the theme or purpose of the installation, and then brainstorms images or words she might want to include.
She then starts to arrange the dominoes she’ll need. Then, she calculates the exact dimensions of each section of the setup, including how much space will be needed between each domino. She even takes the time to omit some dominoes until the very end of the project. This ensures that if she or a teammate accidentally knocks over a domino, it won’t bring down the entire installation. This process is vital to ensure that every domino stands in the right place before it falls. This is why she and her team spend so much time perfecting each domino before they begin the installation. By doing so, they can avoid any dominos that might fall in the wrong place and ruin their design. Dominoes can be quite expensive, so Hevesh has to be very careful.