Domino is a small tile marked with dots resembling those on dice. A domino set typically includes 28 tiles, each a rectangle twice as long as it is wide. Each domino has two ends, each with a number of spots or pips that indicate value. The most common value is six, but some sets have fewer or more, from zero to eight. Dominos may be used to play a variety of games, both blocking and scoring. They can also be arranged to form patterns such as crosses, spider webs, and lines of three or more.
A player may win by completing the domino of a particular value in one turn. If the player is unable to do so, that player must “chip out” and hand play to the opponent. Alternatively, the winner is the player with the most number of spots remaining on his or her dominos after all opponents have chipped out.
Dominoes are often made from a mixture of materials, including ivory, bone, and silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or painted onto them. Other material options include ceramic clay, marble, granite, and soapstone; metals such as brass or pewter; woods such as birch, beech, or oak; and other materials such as glass and crystal. In addition, they can be made from polymer materials such as plastic.
Unlike the typical table game, a domino rally is a competition in which builders construct elaborate, imaginative domino effects before an audience. Contestants may build anything from a teeter-totter to a chain reaction of hundreds or thousands of individual dominos that fall in rhythmic, hypnotic sequence. The goal is to make an effect that is as visually exciting as possible, awe-inspiring even.
If you write fiction, whether on the sly off-the-cuff or by careful outline and Scrivener, the key to writing a good story is to create scenes that are as impactful as a single domino tumbling over its peers in a domino rally. To do so, it’s essential to remember that plot isn’t just about action. It’s also about reaction, and the domino effect.
A domino effect occurs when a small event triggers a series of related, but independent events that cascade over each other, much like the way a single domino can cause an entire line to collapse with the slightest nudge. It’s an important concept to understand when creating a narrative, and one that can be used to explain how different types of leaders and managers operate in the workplace.