Domino, or dominoes, are small oblong tiles that are marked with numbers 0-6 in each half. They are used to play a game in which each player tries to find and lay down a tile with a value that matches or exceeds the sum of the values of all the other tiles already laid down. The first person to do this wins the hand. The game is also played in teams. Dominoes may be made of many different materials. Some sets are molded from plastic, but more often they are made of natural substances such as bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, or dark hardwoods such as ebony. These natural sets have a heavier weight and feel more substantial than polymer sets.

Like playing cards and dice, dominoes have a number of different games that can be played with them. Many of these are based on blocking other players from making plays, or scoring points. Some are adaptations of card games, or were once popular in some areas to circumvent religious proscriptions against playing cards.

One of the most common games, called “double six,” involves the use of a standard 28-piece set. The tiles are arranged into a “stock” or “boneyard,” with each player drawing seven of them. The players then try to make a line of dominoes that is connected end-to-end by a single domino. If the line is connected, the winner scores for each multiple of five in his opponents’ dominoes that remain in their hands.

The basic game of dominoes is easy to learn, but there are many variations that are more complex and interesting. For example, a double-six set can be used to play a game called “Muggins.” In this game, each player draws and places one domino at a time. If a double cannot be played because another domino has already been placed on its end, the players must draw again and continue placing and drawing until one player can no longer add a new domino to his hand.

In addition to the aforementioned games, a wide variety of other games can be played with dominoes. Some involve forming chains or lines of dominoes. Others involve making specific shapes with the dominoes or placing them in a grid pattern. Still others have no fixed rules and are more like artistic creations than games of chance.

In these creative games, a domino is not simply an object that has a fixed number of dots, but instead is a symbol of a process or a state of being. For example, a domino can be used to represent the emergence of a novel idea, or to symbolize the growth of an organization. In these ways, the domino can be a tool for understanding complexity and change in our society. It can help us see how the interconnectedness of our actions and reactions leads to unexpected outcomes, good and bad. It can also be a powerful metaphor for writing a novel, as it demonstrates the way that one event can trigger a cascade of events with unpredictable results.