In dominoes, players have to play a tile onto the playing surface. The tile must be placed so that it touches a domino that has a matching number on one end. If the number is identical on both ends, the player is said to have “stitched up” the ends of the domino chain.
A typical game of domino is played with two to four players. Each player takes a certain amount of dominoes at the start of the game. A player who cannot place a domino must pick a sleeping domino. Once this happens, the player is done and the game is over. For example, a game of two players would start with seven dominoes, whereas a game for three players would have four tiles.
In the early 1800s, the domino game spread from Italy to France and became popular there. France began producing games and puzzles with dominoes as their main theme. There were two main types of domino puzzles: those with patterns on the tiles and those with arithmetic properties on the pips. The first variant of dominoes required players to place a single tile on top of a pattern, while the second game required them to match two tiles together.
There are many variations of the game. In one version, dominoes have the same number of pips on each half of the tile’s face. Another variation of the game allows players to join tiles to any line they wish. Doubles, for example, are laid perpendicularly to the lines. Doubles are paired tiles that have the same number of pips on both sides.
Another popular variant of domino is the Block game. This version requires two players and a double-six set of dominoes. The players then draw seven tiles from the double-six set. They then alternately extend the playing line. The winner’s score equals the total pip count of the loser’s hand.
In a traditional game, players score the game by awarding pips on the opponents’ dominoes. Doubles may be counted as one or two pips, while a double-blank may be counted as 0 or 14. Both players agree on the target score before the game starts. The first player to reach that target score wins.
In a competitive game of dominoes, the player who lays the last domino earns points. When this happens, the game ends. If nobody else plays a domino, the winner scores the total number of dots in his or her opponent’s hands. This is a very common strategy in dominoes.
There are many variations of the game, but the basic rules are the same. When the player gets his turn to play, he or she must place all playable dominos on the back side of the table. This player then has to play any dominos that are playable.