Dominoes are a type of game board that is made up of square, rectangular or round plastic pieces with an arrangement of dots on one side, known as the pips, and blank or identically patterned on the other. They are stacked horizontally or vertically and separated from each other by a space or a line. They are used in a variety of domino games to form chains, or lines, of one or more dominoes that must be toppled before another player can play his tiles.

In a domino game, each player draws the number of tiles allowed for his turn according to the rules of the specific game being played. He then places the first tile he is able to play on the table, either by placing it directly or by “byeing” it from the stock (see “Passing and Byeing”). If a player makes a mistake while playing his tile, he must draw the correct tile from the stock and place it in his hand.

Once the dominoes are set up, a player can make his plays by matching the pips on the open end of each domino with those on the ends of adjacent dominoes on the line of play. This line of play is sometimes called the layout, string or line of play, although basic instructions for line of play for some domino games are also listed under the section Line of Play.

The power of the domino

Once one domino is knocked over, it can cause a chain reaction that brings down all of the adjacent dominoes. This is because a domino has inertia, a tendency to resist motion unless an outside force acts on it. A little bit of a nudge can push it past its inertia point, though, and the rest of the dominoes fall like dominoes, as if by magic.

Hevesh is an expert in creating intricate domino setups. Her YouTube channel, Hevesh5, has more than 2 million subscribers, and she’s worked on domino projects for movies, TV shows and events. Her largest creations involve thousands of dominoes and can take several nail-biting minutes for the entire set to tumble.

The Domino Effect

In the business world, the domino effect refers to a situation where one company’s actions inspire others to follow suit. It can be a great way to spur positive change in an organization, but it is important to ensure that the initial action is warranted and will lead to the desired result.

For example, when a major retail corporation like CVS makes an unpopular move, it can cause other retailers to follow suit, potentially harming the industry as a whole. In the Domino’s Pizza case, a company listened to its employees and took swift action by introducing new policies and reaffirming core values. These changes helped the company regain its top workplace ranking and improve employee satisfaction. Similarly, a political crisis can spark a domino effect when other countries start to lose confidence in the leader and begin to withdraw economic aid.