Dominoes are an iconic symbol of our innate desire for connection and camaraderie. From bustling city squares to quiet village homes, the game has inspired a number of cultures across the globe. While domino rules vary from place to place, there are some basic rules that apply to all games. The game can be used in a variety of ways to teach mathematical concepts and skills, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The game also offers opportunities to explore geometry, physics, and pattern recognition. Using these elements, students can design their own domino art – lines of straight dominoes that form pictures when they fall, curved lines that form patterns, stacked walls, or 3D structures like towers and pyramids.
The first step in playing any domino game is determining how many tiles are needed for the game. The amount of tiles required depends on the number of players and the specific rules of the game. Some games are played with a double-twelve set (91 tiles) and others require a double-nine set (55 tiles). The number of tiles taken at the beginning of a game will vary according to these rules, and the total amount of dominoes in play will change as the game progresses.
Once the number of dominoes has been determined, it is necessary to determine who will make the first play. In some games, the player with the highest domino in his hand begins play. In other games, the winner of the last game starts. In some cases, a tie may be broken by drawing new hands. The heaviest tile, either double or single, may also determine who begins play, depending on the specific rules of the game.
As the players make their plays, a line of dominoes is formed on the table. This configuration is often referred to as the layout, string, or line of play. The open ends of the dominoes must be adjacent and match in number – for example, two matching doubles are played perpendicular to one another.
In some games, there may be a surplus of tiles left in the stock. Depending on the rules of the game, these tiles may be bought by the winning player or they may be placed in a “passing and byeing” pile to be redeemed later in the game. The pips on these tiles are added to the winning player’s score. This scoring method is sometimes employed by the losing players to balance the score at the end of a hand or game. Counting the pips on the losing players’ tiles, however, is not an accurate way to calculate score. This method does not take into account the fact that the pips of a domino with two matching ends can be rearranged to make an addition equation. This commutative property of addition is an important concept for students to understand. It helps them make the transition between using moveable manipulatives to writing only algebraic equations.
