A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block, usually 28 in number. Each domino has a face that is either blank or marked with an arrangement of dots resembling those on dice. In games, players place dominoes on a surface and then knock them down in a chain reaction. The term is also used metaphorically to refer to a sequence of events that is inevitable or highly likely, as well as to the effects of one event on another, such as an earthquake causing buildings to fall and then triggering a series of tsunamis.
Domino is a game that can be played with just two players or many more. The players take turns placing dominoes on the table, adding to a growing chain of tiles. Each domino must touch a tile that has been placed before it, and a single domino may be played to a double only when its two matching ends are touching fully. The resulting chain develops in a snake-like shape, depending on the placement of each tile.
Lily Hevesh has loved dominoes since she was 9 years old. She got her first set from her grandparents, and soon started making videos of her own domino projects on YouTube. Today, she has more than 2 million subscribers who watch her make elaborate domino setups. Her most impressive setups can take hours to complete. She carefully sets up each piece, and tests it several times to make sure everything works correctly before beginning the final project.
She also takes the time to film each step of her process in slow motion, so she can make precise corrections when something doesn’t work as planned. Hevesh explains that not every domino works exactly as she plans, and this is an important part of the learning process for aspiring domino artists.
When Hevesh sets up a complex project, she often begins by creating the biggest 3-D sections of it first. Once she is satisfied that each section works correctly, she moves on to flat arrangements and then lines of dominoes connecting all the different sections together.
Dominoes are often made from polymer clay, but some are made of more traditional materials like bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or a dark hardwood such as ebony. These sets are typically more expensive than those made of polymer. More recently, some dominoes have been made from other natural materials such as marble or granite; metals like brass and pewter; frosted glass; ceramic clay; and crystal. The use of these exotic materials adds to the perceived quality and elegance of a domino set. In addition, the more natural materials tend to have a heavier weight than polymer sets.