Dominoes are used to create a wide variety of geometric patterns and shapes when they fall. They can be arranged to form straight lines, curved lines, grids that make pictures when they fall, or 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. They can also be glued to cardboard and laid on a flat surface to form intricately patterned domino art. The art can be simple or elaborate and may contain themes that range from sports to holidays to movies and television shows.
Domino is a game that requires skill and strategy. A person who plays domino must carefully consider the placement of each tile he puts down in order to advance his own position and score points in the best way possible. There are many different types of domino games, and each has its own rules for scoring and placing tiles. The basic rule of domino is that each player places a single tile onto the table, positioning it so that its two matching ends are adjacent to one another. If a double is played, it must be placed in a cross-way fashion across the end of the chain that is touching it.
After the dominoes have been shuffled, each player draws seven dominoes for his hand from the stock (also known as the boneyard). Each drawn domino is positioned on its edge in front of the player so that he can see his own, but not his opponents’, tiles at all times. A player is able to determine his own score in most games by counting the number of pips on each exposed end of his dominoes.
Some players choose to buy tiles from the stock in accordance with the rules of the game being played. The number of tiles that is bought is added to the number of tiles in a player’s hand, and the remainder are returned to the stock. This process is called “byeing.” In other cases, a player may be permitted to draw more than the number of tiles allowed for his hand in a particular game. In these instances, the additional tiles are referred to as his “overdraw.”
In many domino games, once a line of play has been established, each player must place a domino on the table in such a way that its open end matches the pips of the exposed end of another domino that is already playing. Depending on the rules of the game, this configuration is sometimes called a layout or string.
Like a domino, a scene in a novel has the potential to trigger a series of events that will impact the storyline. These events are often unpredictable and can be described as a “domino effect.” Whether you are writing your manuscript off the cuff or following an outline, incorporating dominoes into your plotting can help you develop your story in an interesting way. Think of each scene as a domino and ask yourself how it will affect the next.