View source for Dominoes

{{short description|Family of tile-based games}}
{{redirect2|Domino|Dominos|the restaurant chain|Domino's|other uses|Domino (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox game
| italic title = no
| title         = Dominoes
| image    = [[Image:Dominospiel.JPG|240px]]
| image_caption = 
| years         = 
| genre         = [[Tile-based game]]
| players       = Varies depending on game
| setup_time    = 
| playing_time  = Varies depending on game
| random_chance =         
}}

'''Dominoes''' is a family of [[tile-based game]]s played with pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called ''[[Pip (counting)|pips]]'' or ''dots'') or is blank. The backs of the tiles in a set are indistinguishable, either blank or having some common design. The gaming pieces make up a [[domino set]], sometimes called a ''deck'' or ''pack''.  The traditional European domino set consists of 28 tiles, also known as pieces, bones, rocks, stones, men, cards or just dominoes, featuring all combinations of spot counts between zero and six. A domino set is a generic gaming device, similar to [[playing card]]s or [[dice]], in that a variety of games can be played with a set. Another form of entertainment using domino pieces is the practice of [[domino toppling]].

[[File:Benen dominospel in houten doos, objectnr 77675.JPG|thumb|A boxed domino set dating from the late 19th or early 20th century]]
The earliest mention of dominoes is from [[Song dynasty]] China found in the text ''Former Events in Wulin'' by Zhou Mi (1232–1298).<ref name="lo 2000">Lo, Andrew. "The Game of Leaves: An Inquiry into the Origin of Chinese Playing Cards," ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', University of London, Vol. 63, No. 3 (2000): 389-406.</ref> Modern dominoes first appeared in Italy during the 18th century, but they differ from [[Chinese dominoes]] in a number of respects, and there is no confirmed link between the two. European dominoes may have developed independently, or Italian missionaries in China may have brought the game to Europe.<ref name="Carl">{{cite book|author=Rodney P. Carlisle|title=Encyclopedia of Play|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jLqXM3U_pzEC&pg=PA181|access-date=5 October 2012|date=2 April 2009|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1-4129-6670-2}}</ref>{{rp|181}}

The name "domino" is probably derived from the resemblance to a kind of carnival costume worn during the [[Venetian Carnival]], often consisting of a black-hooded robe and a white mask.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kiplingsociety.co.uk/rg_pinkdoms1.htm|title=Pink Dominoes|website=www.kiplingsociety.co.uk|access-date=24 December 2018}}</ref><ref>A domino is a kind of hood worn by the canons of a cathedral church. Later, the name was given to a mourning-veil for women and later still to half-masks worn by women when travelling or at a masquerade, for disguise. A domino was a masquerade-dress worn for disguise by ladies and gentlemen, and consisting of an ample cloak or mantle with wide sleeves and a hood removable at pleasure. It was usually made of black silk, but sometimes of other colours and materials.[The Probert Encyclopaedia]</ref> Namely, the double-one ({{DU|h|1|1}}) tile looks like the [[domino mask]].<ref name="Celko2001">{{cite web |last=Celko |first=Joe |date=September 9, 2001 |title=History of Dominoes |url=https://www.pagat.com/domino/history.html |website=[[pagat.com]] |location= |publisher=[[John McLeod (card game researcher)|John McLeod]] |access-date=September 18, 2025}}</ref> Despite the coinage of the word "[[polyomino]]" as a generalization, there is no connection between the word "domino" and the number 2 in any language.
The most commonly played domino games are [[Domino Whist]], [[Matador (domino game)|Matador]], and [[Muggins]] (All Fives). Other popular forms include [[Texas 42]], [[Chicken Foot (domino game)|Chicken Foot]], [[Concentration (domino game)|Concentration]], [[Double Fives (domino game)|Double Fives]], and [[Mexican Train]].<ref name="Carl"/>{{rp|181–182}} In Britain, the most popular league and pub game is [[Fives and Threes]].

Dominoes have sometimes been used for [[Divination method|divination]], such as [[Bone Throwing|bone throwing]] in Chinese culture and in the African diaspora.<ref>{{Cite web |title=De Bones |url=https://www.theportico.org.uk/off-the-shelf-blog/debones |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=The Portico Library |date=19 March 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Construction and composition of domino sets==
European-style dominoes are traditionally made of bone, mother of pearl, [[ivory]], or a dark hardwood such as [[ebony]], with contrasting black or white pips which may be [[inlay|inlaid]] or [[paint]]ed. Some sets feature the top half thickness in mother of pearl, ivory, or bone, with the lower half in ebony. Alternatively, domino sets have been made from many different natural materials: stone (e.g., [[marble]], [[granite]] or [[soapstone]]); other woods (e.g., [[ash tree|ash]], [[oak]], [[Sequoia sempervirens|redwood]], and [[cedrus|cedar]]); metals (e.g., [[brass]] or [[pewter]]); [[ceramic]] clay, or even [[frosted glass]] or [[crystal]]. These sets have a more novel look, and the often heavier weight makes them feel more substantial; also, such materials and the resulting products are usually much more expensive than polymer materials. 
[[Image:Dominoes.jpg|thumb|right|Dominoes]]
Modern commercial domino sets are usually made of synthetic materials, such as [[ABS plastic|ABS]] or [[polystyrene]] plastics, or [[Bakelite]] and other [[phenolic resin]]s; many sets approximate the look and feel of ivory while others use colored or even translucent plastics to achieve a more contemporary look. Modern sets also commonly use a different color for the dots of each different end value (one-spots might have black pips while two-spots might be green, three red, etc.) to facilitate finding matching ends. Occasionally, one may find a domino set made of card stock like that for [[playing card]]s. Such sets are lightweight, compact, and inexpensive, and like cards are more susceptible to minor disturbances such as a sudden breeze. Sometimes, the tiles have a metal pin (called a spinner or pivot) in the middle.<ref>{{cite web|title=General Western Domino Attributes|url=http://www.domino-play.com/TypeDoubleSquares.htm|access-date=12 July 2014}}</ref>

The traditional domino set contains one unique piece for each possible combination of two ends with zero to six spots, and is known as a double-six set because the highest-value piece has six pips on each end (the "double six"). The spots from one to six are generally arranged as they are on six-sided [[dice]], but because blank ends having no spots are used, seven faces are possible, allowing 28 unique pieces in a double-six set.

However, this is a relatively small number, especially when playing with more than four people, so many domino sets are "extended" by introducing ends with greater numbers of spots, which increases the number of unique combinations of ends and thus of pieces. Each progressively larger set increases the maximum number of pips on an end by three; so the common extended sets are double-nine (55 tiles), double-12 (91 tiles), double-15 (136  tiles), and double-18 (190 tiles), which is the maximum in practice. As the set becomes larger, identifying the number of pips on each domino becomes more difficult, so some large domino sets use more readable Arabic numerals instead of pips.

==History==

[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Bemanning tijdens een spel domino aan boord van een schip TMnr 60008507.jpg|thumb|Dutch sailors playing dominoes, 1890s]]

=== Chinese dominoes ===

{{further|Chinese dominoes}}

In China, early "domino" tiles were functionally identical to [[Chinese playing cards|playing cards]]. An identifiable version of [[Chinese dominoes]] developed in the 12th or 13th century.

The oldest written mention of domino tiles in China dates to the 13th century and comes from [[Hangzhou]] where ''pupai'' (gambling plaques or tiles) and [[dice]] are listed as items sold by peddlers during the reign of [[Emperor Xiaozong of Song]] (r. 1162–1189).<ref name="lo 2000"/> It is not entirely clear that ''pupai'' means dominoes, but the same term is used two centuries later by the Ming author [[Lu Rong]] (1436–1494) in a context that clearly describes domino tiles.<ref name="lo 2000"/> The earliest known manual on dominoes is the ''Manual of the Xuanhe Period'' which purports to be written by [[Qu You]] (1341–1427),<ref name="lo 2000"/> but some scholars believe it is a later forgery.<ref name=ZH>{{Cite news|url=http://mall.cnki.net/magazine/article/ZHWL200901006.htm|publisher=<span lang="zh">《中华文化论坛》2009年01期</span>|language=zh|script-title=zh:《宣和牌谱》瞿佑作辨伪|author=<span lang="zh">乔光辉、郭威、王骏</span>|access-date=2014-01-04|archive-date=4 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104205527/http://mall.cnki.net/magazine/article/ZHWL200901006.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The traditional 32-piece Chinese domino set, made to represent each possible face of two thrown dice and thus having no blank faces, differs from the 28-piece domino set found [[Western world|in the West]] during the mid 18th century,{{Sfn|Pickover|2002|p=141}} although Chinese dominoes with blank faces were known during the 17th century.<ref>Lo, Andrew (2004) 'China's Passion for Pai: Playing Cards, Dominoes, and Mahjong.' In: Mackenzie, C. and Finkel, I., (eds.), Asian Games: The Art of Contest. New York: [[Asia Society]], pp. 224.</ref>
Each domino originally represented one of the 21 results of throwing two six-sided dice (2d6). One half of each domino is set with the pips from one die and the other half contains the pips from the second die. Chinese sets also introduce duplicates of some throws and divide the tiles into two [[Suit (cards)|suits]]: military and civil.<ref>{{cite journal|date=2003|title=Pan Zhiheng's 'Xu Yezi Pu' - Part 2|journal=[[The Playing-Card]]|volume=31|issue=6|pages=281–284|ref=Lo|last1=Lo|first1=Andrew}}</ref> Chinese dominoes are also longer than typical European ones.

=== Dominoes in Europe and North America ===
[[File:Friedrich Sturm - Domino Players.jpg|thumb|''The domino players'' by [[Friedrich Sturm]]]]
Modern dominoes first appeared in [[Italy]] during the 18th century, but they differ from [[Chinese dominoes]] in a number of respects, and there is no confirmed link between the two. European dominoes may have developed independently, or Italian missionaries in China may have brought the game to Europe.<ref name="Carl"/>{{rp|181}} Having been established in Italy, the game of dominoes spread rapidly to [[Austria]], southern [[Germany]] and [[France]]. 
The game became fashionable in France in the mid-18th century. The name ''domino'' does not appear before that time, being first recorded in 1771, in the ''[[Dictionnaire de Trévoux]]''.
There are two earlier recorded meanings for the French word ''domino'', one referring to the [[Masquerade ball|masquerades]] of the period, derived from the term for the hooded garment of a priest, the other referred to crude and brightly colored woodcuts on paper formerly popular among French peasants.<ref>
<!--
DOMINO. s. m. On nomme ainsi le camail noire que les Prêtres portent pendent l'hiver. ''Hibernum capitis tegumentum''. Ou prend le ''domino'' quand on quitte le bonnet carré. On dit plus ordinairement camail.
On a aussi donné depuis quelque-temps le nom de ''domino'' à une sorte d'habillement, dont on se sert pour aller au bal. C'est une grande robe qui est ordinairement de taffetas, & qui descend jusqu'aux talons. On y ajoute une espèce de camail de la même étoffe, qui couvre la tête.
DOMINO. s. m. Ancien mot qui signifioit autrefois du papier marbré, & peint de diverses couleurs. Les paysans achetent de ces ''dominos'' pour garnir leurs cheminées. Les desseins & les personnages en sont imprimés avec des planches de bois grossièrement faites, puis enluminés & patronnés de couleurs dures.
☞ On appelle encore ''domino'' un jeu qui se joue avec une espèce de dés, marqués d'un côté d'un certain nombre de points, depuis 1, jusqu'à 9. Ce jeu est assez connu.
-->
''Dictionnaire universel françois et latin, vulgairement appelé dictionnaire de Trévoux'' v. III, 6e édition (1771), [https://fr.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Fichier:Dictionnaire_de_Tr%C3%A9voux,_1771,_III.djvu&page=426 p. 418f].</ref>  The way by which this word became the name of the game of dominoes is likely due to the former: the name of the masquerade costume being associated with the [[domino mask|mask itself]], and eventually transferred to the double-one ({{DU|h|1}}) tile.<ref name="Celko2001"></ref>  The earliest game rules in Europe describe a simple [[block game]] for two or four players. Later French rules add the variant of ''Domino à la Pêche'' ("Fishing Domino"), an early [[draw game]] as well as a three-hand game with a [[pool (dominoes)|pool]].{{sfn|"Richard"|1865|p=133}}

[[File:Domino - Costume (PSF).png|thumb|left|Domino costume]]

From France, the game was introduced to [[England]] by the late 1700s,{{efn|The 1810 edition of [[Joseph Strutt (engraver and antiquary)|Joseph Strutt]]'s ''Glig-Gamena Angel-Deod, or, The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England'' reports that "this is a very childish sport, imported from France a few years back,"{{sfn|Strutt|1810|p=283 }} and, in 1797, "Domino" is recorded in Sheridan's dictionary as both "the habit of a Venetian nobleman, a dress much used at masquerades" and "a sort of game."{{sfn|Sheridan|1797|p=}}}} purportedly brought in by French prisoners-of-war.<ref name = DW>[https://worlddomino.com/the-history-of-dominoes/ ''The History of Dominoes'']{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at worlddomino.com. Retrieved 30 December 2020.</ref> The early forms of the game in England were the ''[[Block Game]]'' and ''[[Draw Game]]''.{{sfn|Hoyle|1803|pp=iii-iv}} The rules for these games were reprinted, largely unchanged, for over half a century.{{sfn|Hoyle|1859|pp=257-258}} In 1863, a new game variously described as ''[[All Fives]], Fives'' or ''Cribbage Dominoes'' appeared for the first time in both English and American sources; this was the first scoring game and it borrowed the counting and scoring features of cribbage, but 5 domino spots instead of 15 card points became the basic scoring unit, worth 1 game point. The game was played to 31 and employed a [[cribbage board]] to keep score.{{sfn|''How to Play Draughts, Backgammon, Dominoes and Minor Games at Cards.''|1863|pp=45-46}}
In 1864, ''The American Hoyle'' describes three new variants: [[Muggins]], [[Bergen (domino game)|Bergen]] and Rounce; alongside the Block Dominoes and Draw Dominoes.{{sfn|"Trumps"|1864|pp=394–397}} In Muggins, the cribbage board was dropped, 5 spots scored 5 points, and game was now 200 for two players and 150 for three or four. Despite the name, there was no 'muggins rule' as in [[cribbage]] to challenge a player who fails to declare his scoring combinations.<ref>[[wikt:muggins|muggins]] at Wiktionary.</ref> This omission was rectified in the 1868 edition of ''The Modern Pocket Hoyle'',{{sfn|Dick|1868|pp=301-302}} but reprints of both rule sets continued to be produced in parallel for around twenty years before the version with the muggins rule prevailed. From around 1871, however, the names of All Fives and Muggins, became conflated and many publications issued rules for 'Muggins or All Fives' or 'Muggins or Fives' without making any distinction between the two. This confusion continues to the present day with some publications equating the names and others describing All Fives as a separate game.

In 1889, dominoes was described as having spread worldwide, "but nowhere is it more popular than in the cafés of France and Belgium.{{sfn|Patrick|1889|p=52}} From the outset, the European game was different from the Chinese one. European domino sets contain neither the military-civilian suit distinctions of Chinese dominoes nor the duplicates that went with them. Moreover, according to [[Michael Dummett]], in the Chinese games it is only the identity of the tile that matters; there is no concept of matching.{{sfn|Dummett|1980|p=35}} Instead, the basic set of 28 unique tiles contains seven additional pieces, six of them representing the values that result from throwing a single die with the other half of the tile left blank, and the seventh domino representing the blank-blank ({{DU|h|0}}) combination. Subsequently 45-piece ([[double eight]]) sets appeared in [[Austria]] and, in recent times, 55-piece ([[double nine]]) and 91-piece ([[double twelve]]) sets have been produced.

All the early games are still played today alongside games that have sprung up in the last 60 years such as [[Five Up]], [[Mexican Train]] and [[Chicken Foot (domino game)|Chicken Foot]], the last two taking advantage of the larger domino sets available.<ref name="pagat">{{Cite web |title=Domino Games |url=https://www.pagat.com/domino/ |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=pagat.com}}</ref>

Some modern descriptions of All Fives are quite different from the original, having lost much of their cribbage character and incorporating a single spinner, making it identical, or closely related, to [[Sniff (domino game)|Sniff]].<ref name=pagatAF>[http://www.pagat.com/tile/wdom/all_fives.html Rules for All Fives at Pagat.com] Retrieved 29 January 2008.</ref>{{sfn|Kelley|Lugo|2003|p=228}} Most published rule sets for Muggins include the rule that gives the game its name, but some modern publications omit it even though the muggins rule has been described as the unique feature of this game.{{sfn|Kelley|Lugo|2003|p=228}}

Dominoes is now played internationally. It is recognized as an "ingrained cultural activity within the [[Caribbean]]" but is also popular with the [[Windrush generation]] (who have Caribbean heritage) in the UK.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-06-22 |title=Dominoes tournament brings communities together for Windrush Day |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-61895030 |access-date=2022-11-29}}</ref>

In the [[U.S.]] state of [[Alabama]], although rarely prosecuted, it was illegal to play dominoes on [[Sunday]] within the state until the relevant section of the Alabama Criminal Code was repealed, effective April 21, 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Day |first=Dre|title=8 Alabama Laws You're Probably Breaking & Don't Even Know It |url=https://1051theblock.com/8-alabama-laws-youre-probably-breaking-dont-even-know-it-8-of-alabamas-weirdest-laws/ |access-date=2023-03-02 |website=105.1 The Block |date=13 November 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/2022/title-13a/chapter-12/article-1/section-13a-12-1/ AL Code Section 13A-12-1 (2022)].</ref>

==Tiles and suits==
[[Image:Dominomatrix.svg|thumb|right|Complete double-six set]]

Dominoes (also known as bones, cards, men, pieces or tiles), are normally twice as long as they are wide, which makes it easier to re-stack pieces after use. A domino usually features a line in the middle to divide it visually into two squares, called ends. The value of either side is the number of spots or pips. In the most common variant (double-six), the values range from six pips down to none or blank.<ref name="hoyle1950">{{Cite book |last1=Hoffman |first1=Louis |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hoyle%27s_Games_Modernized |title=Hoyle's Games Modernized |last2=Browning |first2=Hanworth |publisher=Routledge |year=1909 |editor-last=Bergholt |editor-first=Ernest |edition=revised}}</ref> The sum of the two values, i.e. the total number of pips, may be referred to as the '''rank''' or '''weight''' of a tile; a tile may be described as "heavier" than a "lighter" one that has fewer (or no) pips.

Tiles are generally named after their two values. For instance, the following are descriptions of the tile bearing the values two and five ({{DU|H|2|5}}):
* Deuce-five
* Five-deuce
* 2–5
* 5–2
A tile that has the same pips-value on each end is called a '''double''' or '''doublet''', and is typically referred to as double-zero ({{DU|H|0}}), double-one ({{DU|H|1}}), and so on.<ref name=hoyle1950 /> Conversely, a tile bearing different values is called a '''single'''.<ref name="kelleylugo2003" />

Every tile which features a given number is a member of the '''suit''' of that number. A single tile is a member of two suits: for example, 0-3 ({{DU|H|0|3}}) belongs both to the suit of threes and the suit of blanks, or 0 suit.

In some versions the doubles can be treated as an additional suit of doubles. In these versions, the double-six ({{DU|H|6}}) belongs both to the suit of sixes and the suit of doubles. However, the dominant approach is that each double belongs to only one suit.<ref name=hoyle1950 />

The most common domino sets commercially available are double six (with 28 tiles) and double nine (with 55 tiles). Larger sets exist and are popular for games involving several players or for players looking for long domino games.

The number of tiles in a double-'''n''' set obeys the following formula:<ref>{{cite web|title=The Mathematics of Dominoes|url=http://www.pagat.com/tile/wdom/math.html|work=Pagat.com|access-date=13 March 2014}}</ref>

:<math>\frac{(n+1)(n+2)}{2}</math>

which is also the ('''n'''+1)th [[triangular number]], as in the following table.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:0 auto;"
|+ Relationship between the maximum number of pips on an end and the triangular numbers<br />(values in bold are common)
! ''n''
| 0 || 1 || 2 || 3 || 4 || 5
! 6
| 7 || 8
! 9
| 10 || 11
! 12
| 13 || 14
! 15
| 16 || 17
! 18
| 19 || 20 || 21
|-
! ''T<sub>n+1</sub>''
| 1 || 3 || 6 || 10 || 15 || 21
! 28
| 36 || 45
! 55
| 66 || 78
! 91
| 105 || 120
! 136
| 153 || 171
! 190
| 210 || 231 || 253
|}

This formula can be simplified a little bit when <math>n</math> is made equal to the ''total number of doubles in the domino set'':

<math>\frac{(n)(n+1)}{2}</math>

The total number of pips in a double-'''n''' set is found by:
	
<math>\frac{n(n+1)(n+2)}{2}</math> i.e. the number of tiles multiplied by the maximum pip-count ('''n''')

e.g. a 6-6 set has (7 × 8) / 2 = 56/2 = 28 tiles, the average number of pips per tile is 6 (range is from 0 to 12), giving a total pip count of 6 × 28 = 168

== Rules ==
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2018}}
{{See also|List of domino games}}

The most popular type of play are layout games, which fall into two main categories, blocking games and scoring games.

* Most domino games are '''blocking games''', where the objective is to empty one's hand while blocking the opponents’. In the end, blocking games may become scoring games by assigning a score determined by counting the pips in the losing players' hands.
* In '''scoring games''', the objective is to gain a higher or lower score than the opponents'. The scoring is different and happens mostly during game play, making it the principal objective.<ref name="kelleylugo2003" />

===Blocking game===
The most basic domino variant is for two players and requires a double-six set. The 28 tiles are shuffled face down and form the ''stock'' or ''boneyard''. Each player draws seven tiles from the stock. Once the players begin drawing tiles, they are typically placed on-edge in front of the players, so players can see their own tiles, but not the value of their opponents' tiles. Players can thus see how many tiles remain in their opponents' hands at all times.

One player begins by downing (playing the first tile) one of their tiles. This tile starts the line of play, in which values of adjacent pairs of tile ends must match. The players alternately extend the line of play with one tile at one of its two ends; if a player is unable to place a valid tile, they must continue drawing tiles{{vn|reason=this is a characteristic of the Draw Game. For my understanding, in the Block Game, the player is blocked and must skip their turn|date=September 2025}} from the stock until they are able to place a tile. The game ends when one player wins by playing their last tile, or when the game is blocked because neither player can play. If that occurs, whoever caused the block receives all of the remaining player points not counting their own.<ref name="hoyle1950" />

====Middle Eastern version====

A common variant of the blocking game that is played in the Middle East features four players with slightly altered rules. The stock is divided equally on all players, each having seven tiles in hand. After drawing the tiles, the player with the double-six tile starts by downing that tile on the table and the game then proceeds counter-clockwise.

Since there is no boneyard, a player without a matching tile passes their turn. A player that is unable to play is called a downed or sitting player. A less common alternation of the middle eastern game requires the player to the left of the sitting player to transfer one of their tiles (not necessarily playable) tile to the downed player. In this variant, if the transferred tile can be played, they have to down it.

Similar to a normal blocking game, the game ends when a player empties their hand or the game is blocked. If the game is blocked, the player with the lightest hand receives points equal to the sum of all losing players' hands. A set of games ends when any player reaches a set number of points, in which they win. If no player reached a winning score, the winning player from the previous round starts the next game with any tile in their hand and the game proceeds normally.

====Spanish and Latin American version====
Another variant of the blocking game is the Spanish and Latin American version and is played in teams of two.<ref>{{cite web |last=McLeod |first=John |date=October 21, 2020 |title=Partnership Dominoes |url=https://www.pagat.com/domino/line/partnership.html |website=pagat.com |location= |publisher= |access-date=October 2, 2025}}</ref> The stock is divided equally among all players, each having seven tiles in hand. Players sitting on opposite ends of the table are part of the same team.

The game ends when one of the players has no tiles left or when the game is blocked. In the first case, the team of the player without any tiles left earns the sum of the points left in the opposing teams' hands. When the game is blocked, the team with the least points in its hands earns the points left in the opposing teams' hands. If both teams have the same points, the team that started wins the round.

===Draw game===
In a draw game (blocking or scoring), players are additionally allowed to draw as many tiles as desired from the stock before playing a tile, and they are not allowed to pass before the stock is (nearly) empty.<ref name="hoyle1950" /> The score of a game is the number of pips in the losing player's hand plus the number of pips in the stock. Most rules prescribe that two tiles need to remain in the stock.<ref name="kelleylugo2003">{{Cite book
|title=The Little Giant Book of Dominoes
|last1=Kelley
|first1=Jennifer A.
|last2=Lugo
|first2=Miguel
|year=2003
|isbn=1-4027-0290-6
|publisher=Sterling}}</ref> The draw game is often referred to as simply "dominoes".<ref>{{Cite book
|title=My Book of Indoor Games
|last=Squareman
|first=Clarence
|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13022
|year=1916}}</ref>

Adaptations of both games can accommodate more than two players, who may play individually or in teams.<ref name="hoyle1950" />

===Line of play===
[[Image:Muggins.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Five-Up played with multicolored tiles: the doubles serve as spinners, allowing the line of play to branch.]]

The line of play is the configuration of played tiles on the table. It starts with a single tile and typically grows in two opposite directions when players add matching tiles. In practice, players often play tiles at right angles when the line of play gets too close to the edge of the table.

The rules for the line of play often differ from one variant to another. In many rules, the doubles serve as spinners, i.e., they can be played on all four sides, causing the line of play to branch. Sometimes, the first tile is required to be a double, which serves as the only spinner.<ref name="kelleylugo2003" /> In some games such as [[Chicken Foot (domino game)|Chicken Foot]], all sides of a spinner must be occupied before anybody is allowed to play elsewhere. [[Matador (domino game)|Matador]] has unusual rules for matching. [[Bendomino]] uses curved tiles, so one side of the line of play (or both) may be blocked for geometrical reasons.

In [[Mexican Train]] and other train games, the game starts with a spinner from which various trains branch off. Most trains are owned by a player and in most situations players are allowed to extend only their own train.

===Scoring===
In blocking games, scoring happens at the end of the game. After a player has emptied their hand, thereby winning the game for the team, the score consists of the total pip count of the losing team's hands. In some rules, the pip count of the remaining stock is added. If a game is blocked because no player can move, the winner is often determined by adding the pips in players' hands.<ref name="kelleylugo2003" />

In scoring games, each individual can potentially add to the score. For example, in [[Bergen (domino game)|Bergen]], players score two points whenever they cause a configuration in which both open ends have the same value and three points if additionally one open end is formed by a double.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bergen|publisher=domino-games.com|url=http://www.domino-games.com/domino-rules/bergen-rules.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Bergen|publisher=pagat.com|url=http://www.pagat.com/tile/wdom/bergen.html}}</ref> In [[Muggins]], players score by ensuring the total pip count of the open ends is a multiple of a certain number. In variants of Muggins, the line of play may branch due to spinners. In the common U.S. variant known as Fives players score by making the open ends a multiple of five.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to play dominoes: Rules for playing the Fives, Big Six, or Muggins dominos |url=https://www.dominoes-book.com/how-to-play-dominoes |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=Dominoes Strategy Book |language=en}}</ref>

In British public houses and social clubs, a scoring version of "[[Fives and Threes|5s-and-3s]]" is used. The game is normally played in pairs (two against two) and is played as a series of "ends". In each "end", the objective is for players to attach a domino from their hand to one end of those already played so that the sum of the end tiles is divisible by five or three. One point is scored for each time five or three can be divided into the sum of the two tiles, i.e. four at one end and five at the other makes nine, which is divisible by three three times, resulting in three points. Double five at one end and five at the other makes 15, which is divisible by three five times (five points) and divisible by five three times (three points) for a total of eight points.

An "end" stops when one of the players is out, i.e., has played all of their tiles. In the event no player is able to empty their hand, then the player with the lowest domino left in hand is deemed to be out and scores one point. A game consists of any number of ends with points scored in the ends accumulating towards a total. The game ends when one of the pair's total score exceeds a set number of points. A running total score is often kept on a [[cribbage]] board. 5s-and-3s is played in a number of competitive leagues in the British Isles.

===Card games using domino sets===
Apart from the usual blocking and scoring games, games of a very different character are also played with dominoes, such as solitaire or trick-taking games. Most of these are adaptations of [[card game]]s and were once popular in certain areas to circumvent religious proscriptions against [[playing card]]s.<ref>{{Cite book
|title=The New Complete Hoyle
|last1=Morehead
|first1=Albert Hodges
|author-link=Albert Morehead
|last2=Hoyle
|first2=Edmond
|author-link2=Edmond Hoyle
|last3=Frey
|first3=Richard L.
|author-link3=Richard L. Frey
|last4=Mott-Smith
|first4=Geoffrey
|author-link4=Geoffrey Mott-Smith
|year=1991
|isbn=0-385-24962-4
|publisher=Doubleday
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/newcompletehoyle00hoyl
}}</ref>
A very simple example is a [[Concentration (domino game)|Concentration]] variant played with a double-six set; two tiles are considered to match if their total pip count is 12.

A popular domino game in [[Texas]] is [[42 (dominoes)|42]]. The game is similar to the card game [[Spades (card game)|spades]]. It is played with four players paired into teams. Each player draws seven tiles, and the tiles are played into tricks. Each trick counts as one point, and any domino with a multiple of five dots counts toward the total of the hand. These 35 points of "five count" and seven tricks equals 42 points, hence the name.<!---

The following seems to be just a slightly spiced up standard variant of the 4 player Block game with empty stock. Part of this information may be worth including elsewhere, but it doesn't really belong into an "other games" section.

Also, in the Caribbean, there are other common games which involve four players in which the players can play as partners or as individuals. In partners, the partners sit across from each other and all hands can not be seen by the other players. The game is started by shuffling the tiles or 'cards' and each player pulling seven cards. The double six is then played and play continues to the starter's right side. If a player can not play then he is passed and it is the next player's turn. The object is for a team to win by one of the players running out of tiles. The winning team is awarded a point and then restart the process by shuffling and pulling a new hand and then starting with any domino either partner wishes to play. The game goes on till one team reaches six points. Double points are awarded when you get 'key'. This happens when your last card is the only card that can be played on both ends. Also when a player pulls five doubles all players put their tiles back and pull new hands, the following game is played for 2 points and the double six is started by the player who has it. This variation is called Partners, where the other variation is called Cut-Throat (or 'pin-tin tin' in the Dominican Republic), where each player plays for himself, in which all the same rules apply as in partners. This form of dominoes is most common in the [[Dominican Republic]], [[Jamaica]] and the [[Cayman Islands]].
-->

==Competitive play==
[[File:Abkhazia 10 apsar Ag 2011 Domino b.jpg|thumb|upright|Commemorative Coin of the 2011 Domino World Championship in Abkhazia]]
Dominoes is played at a professional level, similar to poker. Numerous organisations and clubs of amateur domino players exist around the world. Some organizations organize international competitions. Examples include the Anglo Caribbean Dominoes League (ACDL) in the UK which includes over 40 clubs including the [[Brixton Immortals]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Domino rivals looking to knock spots off each other {{!}} The Voice Online |url=https://archive.voice-online.co.uk/article/domino-rivals-looking-knock-spots-each-other |access-date=2022-11-29 |website=archive.voice-online.co.uk}}</ref>

==Dominoes in Unicode==
{{Main article|Domino Tiles|l1=Domino Tiles (Unicode block)}}

Since April 2008,<ref>{{cite press release |date=4 April 2008 |publisher=Unicode Consortium |url=https://www.unicode.org/press/pr-5.1.html |title=Unicode Version 5.1 Released |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090127061209/http://unicode.org/press/pr-5.1.html |archive-date=27 January 2009 |df=dmy }}</ref> the character encoding standard [[Unicode]] includes characters that represent the double-six domino tiles. While a complete domino set has only 28 tiles, the Unicode set has "reversed" versions of the 21 tiles with different numbers on each end, a "back" image, and everything duplicated as horizontal and vertical orientations, for a total of 100 glyphs. Few fonts are known to support these glyphs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/block/domino_tiles/fontsupport.htm|title=Fontsupport|access-date=2012-02-07}}</ref> 
{{Unicode chart Domino Tiles}}

==Historical domino competitions==
*Col. Henry T. Titus vs. Capt. Clark Rice for the naming of [[Titusville, Florida]].<ref>{{cite web|title=City of Titusville History|publisher=City of Titusville, Florida|url=http://www.titusville.com/Page.asp?NavID=216|access-date=10 May 2009|archive-date=23 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523073740/http://www.titusville.com/Page.asp?NavID=216|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Games}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}
*Domino games
**[[Glossary of domino terms]]
**[[List of domino games]]
**[[Chinese dominoes]]
*Other related articles
**[[Domino effect]]
**[[Domino theory]]
**[[Domino's Pizza]]
**[[Domino show]]/[[Domino toppling]]
**[[Polyomino]]es
**[[Pub games]]
**[[Tile-based game]]
**[[List of world championships in mind sports]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Dick |first=Wm Brisbane |date=1868 |title=The Modern Pocket Hoyle: Containing All the Games of Skill and Chance as played in this country at the present time |edition=4th |publisher=Dick & Fitzgerald |location=New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Dummett|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Dummett|title=The Game of Tarot|year=1980|publisher=Duckworth |isbn=0715610147}}
* {{cite book |ref={{harvid|''How to Play Draughts, Backgammon, Dominoes and Minor Games at Cards.''|1863}} |date=1863 |title=How to Play Draughts, Backgammon, Dominoes and Minor Games at Cards |location=London |publisher=Stevens}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hoyle |first1=Edmond |title=Hoyle's Games, Improved: Consisting of Practical Treatises on Whist ... [etc.] : with an Essay on Game Cocks and the Rules &c. at Horse Races : Wherein are Comprised Calculations for Betting Upon Equal Or Advantageous Terms |date=1803 |publisher=R. Baldwin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=__JdAAAAcAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hoyle |first1=Edmond |title=Hoyle's Games: Improved and Enlarged by New and Practical Treatises, with the Mathematical Analysis of the Chances of the Most Fashionable Games of the Day, Forming an Easy and Scientific Guide to the Gaming Table, and the Most Popular Sports of the Field |date=1859 |publisher=Longman and Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhtZAAAAYAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Patrick|editor-first=David|title=Chambers's Encyclopaedia|year=1889|publisher=Chambers|location=Edinburgh}}
* {{cite book|last=Pickover|first=Clifford A.|author-link=Clifford A. Pickover|title=The Zen of Magic Squares, Circles, and Stars|year=2002|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-11597-4}}
* {{cite book|last="Richard"<!--This should stip cit bot from breaking referencing-->|title=Académie des jeux: contenant la règle de chacun des principaux jeux|year=1865|publisher=Bernardin-Bechet|location=Paris}}
* {{cite book|last=Sheridan|first=Thomas|title=A Complete Dictionary of the English Language|volume=1|year=1797|publisher=Dilly|location=London}}
* {{cite book|last=Strutt|first=Joseph|author-link=Joseph Strutt (engraver and antiquary)|title=Glig-Gamena Angel-Đeod, or, The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England|edition=Second|year=1810|location=London|url = https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012252157/page/n9/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book|last="Trumps"<!--This should stip cit bot from breaking referencing-->|title=The American Hoyle|year=1864|publisher=Dick & Fitzgerald|location=New York}}
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Dominoes|ref=no}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

{{Domino games}}
{{Tabletop games by type}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dominoes| ]]
[[Category:Domino games| ]]
[[Category:Chinese inventions]]
[[Category:Children's games]]
[[Category:Gaming devices]]
[[Category:Gambling games]]
[[Category:Pub games]]