How to Play Dominoes
Dominoes are a type of playing cards. They were first used in Europe during the mid-18th century, and are now widely played throughout the world. The game was popularized in America during the 1860s, and many variations have been developed over the years.
A domino is a small rectangular block made of rigid materials, such as plastic, bone, or wood. Each domino has an identifying mark on one side. This identifying mark is referred to as a pip, and is used to determine the suit of the domino. Pips are usually marked with an arrangement of spots.
When players take turns adding dominoes to the platform, the goal is to make the tower stable. The tower will fall down if it is unstable, and the game will continue until the player can knock it over. If the player cannot knock over the tower, he can chip it out.
There are several rules that govern how dominoes are placed. First, each domino must be played to an open end. An open end is a face with no other tiles attached to it. Once the player is able to place a tile on an open end, he may not move it further.
The second rule is that all doubles are placed crossways across the end of the chain. This means that the player must position a tile so that the number on one side of the tile is exactly opposite the number on the other side. However, if the first and the second tiles on a row are the same number, they may not be played to an open end. In this case, the second and the third tiles may be played vertically, to create a “L” in the layout.
As the set grows in size, identifying the pips becomes more difficult. Generally, the higher the numbers, the more difficult it is to identify the pips. Moreover, there are some variations of the game that have time limits per turn.
Alternatively, the first player chooses the number of tiles from his or her hand. Usually, the first domino that is chosen is the one with the heaviest number. For example, if the first player’s hand contains four of the five-count dominoes, he or she is the first to choose the first domino. Other players may have a hand of two or three of the five-count dominoes, but they are not required to do so.
Players may also play to the left of 6-6, as opposed to the right. This will produce an open end of 5 and 4. It is possible to play to the right of 6-6 to create an open end of 6 and 3, but this is not common.
During the early 18th century, dominoes were manufactured with ivory faces and dark hardwood such as ebony. In Europe, they were often made of mother-of-pearl oyster shell. These types of dominoes were exported to America, and by the 1860s they were commonly found in American literature.