Domino is a game that involves laying out pieces of black and white tiles on a table. It is played in several variations but is usually played using a set of 28 tiles. The game is played with a target score and players are awarded points for each domino on their table that shows a number. The player who makes the most points wins.
The Domino Effect
During the 17th century, the game of laying out dominoes originated in China and was called pupai. The word pupai was derived from the Chinese phrase (pu yin chun) meaning “playing dominos.”
Traditional Chinese domino games, like Tien Gow and Pai Gow, are played with a 32-piece set. These are different from the 28-piece sets used in western countries during the 18th century, but both have the same goal: to make a long chain of dominoes.
The dominoes in the Chinese set are made to represent each possible face of two thrown dice, and thus have no blank faces. Unlike Western dominoes, the Chinese set can be used to play a variety of different games.
Do you like playing dominoes?
Some people enjoy laying out the individual pieces of the game in long rows. Others play it more like a card game, using the individual pieces to create scores.
To play the game, each player must place a tile onto the table, which must be placed such that it touches one end of the domino chain. The player then places another tile on top of the first, and so on until both players have a full domino chain.
When a domino is laid, it is referred to as a “tile.” It has a number on one side and is marked with pips or dots on the other. The lower number is referred to as the domino’s “value,” and the higher number is referred to as its “suit.” In other words, every tile that features a number belongs to the suit of that number.
The dominoes that are laid out on the table have a natural tendency to resist motion, and they can only move with the help of an outside force. But when a player tips over one of these unmoving dominoes, it triggers an all-or-nothing pulse that travels down the domino line.
This pulsing energy is very similar to the energy that a nerve impulse must send when it sends a signal to the brain. It is stored in the potential energy of a domino, and when it is knocked over, that potential energy is converted to kinetic energy. The kinetic energy then travels to the next domino in the chain, and so on.
The domino effect is a powerful reminder that a change to one behavior can lead to changes in other related behaviors as well. For example, a 2012 study from researchers at Northwestern University found that when participants decreased their sedentary leisure time, they also reduced their daily fat intake.