Domino is a small rectangular block of wood or plastic, the face of which is divided into parts, each bearing from one to six pips or dots. It is a small, flat gaming piece used for games played by matching the ends of adjacent pieces and laying them down in lines and angular patterns. We’ve all seen domino shows in which builders construct elaborate sequences of hundreds or thousands of dominoes, which then fall with the slightest nudge from one domino. This domino effect, also known as a domino chain, is the source of great interest for people who enjoy creating domino art or watching professional domino builders.
Domino Art
One way to use domino is to build a track for the dominoes to run along, either with straight or curved lines that form pictures when they fall or with grids that allow for the building of 3D structures like towers and pyramids. Creating a domino art track requires a lot of patience and attention to detail, as the dominoes must be laid down exactly in the right spots to form an artistic composition. To help people get started, a large number of online resources exist that provide templates and directions for creating various types of domino art.
Another way to use domino is to create a game that involves a set of dominoes and an opponent. The goal of the game is to get all of the dominoes in your hand to fall down before your opponent does. The first player to do so wins the game. Generally, the players take turns picking a domino from the boneyard (the set of remaining unplayed dominoes) and then playing it against all of the other dominoes in their hand so that they all line up with two matching sides touching fully.
This game is often used to train children in the art of matching, and it can also be a fun way for adults to spend time with friends or family members. People who are particularly skilled at the game can build complex layouts that require careful planning, and some designers have even created large domino art installations for public display.
Writing Tip for Today
Just as the domino effect is an important concept in understanding how to build and control a domino art track, it’s also useful in the writing process. Whether you’re a pantser who writes off the cuff or a plotter who uses outlines and Scrivener to guide your story, thinking about how each scene can impact the ones before it will help you make sure your plot is clear and effective.
For example, if you’re writing a novel about a murder investigation, you want to make sure the events in each scene lead logically to the next. So if a scene isn’t adding anything new or interesting to the story, it might be best to skip it.