Domino is a game that can be played with either paper tiles or real dominoes. The rules are similar to those of a normal card game, but instead of cards, the dominoes have numbers on each side. Each number represents a different type of action, from moving one tile over to another to drawing lines and scoring points. The game of domino can also be used for educational purposes to help students learn about patterns and counting.

The word domino may be used to refer to a game of the same name, or it could mean any construction with a starting point and a destination. The most common use of the term is to refer to the sequence of dominoes that fall after a player has moved one piece into position. Dominoes are often set up in a long line to illustrate the domino effect, which occurs when a single domino falls ever-so-slightly, and other pieces follow suit in a cascade of rhythmic motion.

The earliest known manual on dominoes is the Xuan He Pai Pu (Manual of the Xuanhe Period) written by Qu You in 1341. However, most scholars agree that the manual is a forgery. The game reached England in the 18th Century where it became a fad, and was very popular in inns and taverns. It was later adopted by Latin America where it continues to be very popular today. In fact, many of the indigenous games from North America are based on Western dominoes.

In the most basic version of the game, a player begins by picking seven dominoes from a pile and playing any of them that match the current tile. The player who has the highest double leads and calls out the corresponding number, such as “double-six” or “double-four”. Players take turns picking tiles until they have a hand that cannot be filled, at which point they must pass the turn to the other player.

The most basic dominoes have only a total of five possible pips on each end, so they can only be matched with adjacent tiles. Other sets have more pips on each end, increasing the potential number of matching sides. Most domino sets include a maximum of five doubles, but there are also extended versions that have a maximum of nine doubles or eighteen total pips on each end. These ‘extended’ sets are rare and not very useful in regular play. Most games that are not ‘blocking’ games (in which the player must keep his or her hands empty) involve scoring by laying tiles with matching ends to form a chain of dominoes. The first to score a chain of dominoes wins the game. The word domino has the same root as the hooded cape worn by Christian priests in winter, and it is suggested that this is where the game took its name.