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Dominoes are small, flat blocks used as a game. Also called bones, cards, men, or pieces, dominoes are rectangular in shape with one side displaying an arrangement of dots and the other blank or identically patterned. They are normally twice as long as they are wide. Each domino has a value that can be interpreted, usually by counting its pips (or dots), which are arranged in a number of configurations, from six to none or blank, although some sets may use Arabic numerals instead. As each domino is placed on the table, it begins a chain reaction that can continue until all of its ends are covered.
Lily Hevesh, 20, first played with dominoes as a child, collecting them from her grandparents and setting them up in straight or curved lines before flicking the first domino to see what happened next. She loved seeing how the whole line fell, domino by domino. Now, she makes a living by designing and creating mind-blowing domino installations for movies, TV shows, and events—and she posts videos of her work on YouTube.
When Hevesh creates an installation, she follows a version of the engineering-design process. She starts by considering the theme or purpose of the event, and brainstorms images or words that might help inspire her design. Then, she makes a prototype to test out how the piece will work before constructing the final installation. She often tests out her designs in slow-motion, to make sure each section works perfectly.
She then calculates how many dominoes she will need to complete her design and draws a diagram of the layout. This helps her visualize how the dominoes will fall and gives her a chance to make adjustments before building the actual piece.
Many domino games rely on the players matching the pips of their tiles with an open end of another tile that has already been placed on the table. This is the basis of many of the rules for domino, which can vary from place to place and even game to game. Most of the basic domino rules that appear here apply to games that involve more than one player, although there are some rules listed under Line of Play specifically for solitaire games.
Dominoes are a popular activity among children, and the games they play can be simple or complex. The simple games are good for learning the concepts of addition and subtraction, while more complex domino games can be challenging and fun to play with friends. Many of these games are adapted from card games and were once played in areas where religious proscriptions prohibited the use of playing cards.
Dominoes are a great way to get kids interested in science and math, as well as socialization and cooperation. By encouraging the development of these skills, they can prepare kids for success in school and life. In addition, the creative potential of dominoes is endless. They can be used to create artistic arrangements, such as a 3D structure like a tower or pyramid, and they can also be designed to form pictures, letters, and numbers.
