Domino is a game that involves placing small tiles on a surface, and then knocking them over in a sequence. The tiles can be placed in either of two ways – a line of play that runs lengthwise, or a cross-way pattern. Each domino has a number of free ends that can accept additional tiles. The first player to place a tile with the matching number of pips will start the chain reaction, and any subsequent players must add dominoes with matching numbers on the free ends to continue the chain. The first player to complete the chain wins the round.

There are many different games that can be played with dominoes, and they can vary in complexity from simple blocking or scoring games to complex puzzle and strategy games. These include domino art, a form of paper engineering that creates geometric patterns with the fallen dominoes, and even 3D structures such as towers and pyramids.

The word “domino” itself has a long history, as does the game of dominoes. It has been suggested that the name is a reference to a black domino, a kind of hooded cape worn by a priest over his surplice, which contrasted with a white mask. Earlier, the word also denoted an ebony-black cloth that was used as a cape by masqueraders in carnival celebrations.

One of the reasons that Domino’s has been so successful has been its open line of communication with customers. When the company’s sales began to decline, CEO Steve Doyle listened to customer feedback and made changes quickly. He kept the lines of communication open with employees as well, and was rewarded for his efforts in a 2009 Detroit Free Press Top Workplaces survey.

Whether you compose your manuscript off the cuff or carefully plan an outline, a good novel plot is built on a series of domino reactions. It’s not just about what happens, but how it affects the characters and their lives.

As physicist Stephen Morris explains, when you pick up a domino and set it upright, the tile stores potential energy due to its position. When you then knock it over, that energy is converted into kinetic energy as it moves through the chain reaction. The chain continues to grow and build, just as a nerve impulse travels down the axon of a cell.

To get the most out of the experience, it’s best to play on a hard surface that won’t scratch or damage the tiles. Also, it’s important to have a good set of dominoes with enough tiles for each player. Some games have specific rules on the types of tiles you can play, and others have a specific scoring method that must be followed. For example, it’s common for a winning player to count all of the pips left in the losing player’s hands at the end of a hand or game and then add those numbers together to determine the winner. Other games require that the pips be counted only on the tiles that have been played (i.e., a double counted only as four points).