A domino is a small rectangular block of wood or plastic with one or more faces covered with spots or pips resembling those on dice. It is the basic building block of a game in which players in turn place them edge to edge on a line, forming combinations that either match a specific total or create a path that will allow the next player to play his or her bone. The earliest record of the use of this game dates back to the Xuanhe Pai Pu (Manual of the Xuanhe Period) written in China in 1341 or 1437.
Dominoes can be used to build structures as simple or as complex as you want. You can make straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall or even 3-D structures like towers and pyramids. Whether you’re using real or miniature pieces, it takes careful planning to get your design just right. You’ll need to know how many tiles you have to work with and the type of layout you’re trying to build before you begin.
If you’re a serious domino enthusiast, you may have a collection of different styles of sets to choose from. Each set has its own unique characteristics that help you distinguish it from other sets. For example, some dominoes are designed for a particular game or they have a particular style of artwork. Other factors include the materials and construction of the pieces, the number of bones in the set, and its price.
A Dominoes set is normally twice as long as it is wide, which makes it easy to re-stack them when not in use. The dominoes are also often made of a natural material such as silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or a dark hardwood such as ebony. These types of dominoes are more expensive than sets made from polymers such as acrylic or melamine.
For some games, the number of dominoes in a set is limited; in this case the bones are shuffled and each player draws the number required, which is usually seven. After this, each player alternately extends the line of play by placing a bone with an end that matches one of the open ends of the layout. The first player to do this wins that hand.
In a domino cascade, each domino has the potential to push a series of dominoes that lead to its eventual destruction. The same logic applies to the flow of a story. If a scene doesn’t fit within the overall timeline or if it runs counter to readers’ expectations, it will not be successful. As a writer, you must make sure that your characters’ actions are logical and give readers reason to keep liking them, even when they go outside societal norms. This is especially true if the hero does something immoral. As you work on your story, consider how a domino effect would be created by each character and how their actions can impact others.
