Domino is a type of game played by placing dominoes in lines or angular patterns. A complete set of dominoes has 28 pieces, each bearing from one to six dots or pips on one side and blank or identically patterned on the other. People play domino games for entertainment, learning and relaxation. They are also used for teaching kids math and motor skills. Dominos are used for a variety of other purposes, including arts and crafts projects.
Dominos have a long history. The first domino factory opened in Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1955. The company became a franchise in 1967. When Domino’s founder, Thomas Monaghan, started the chain, he wanted to ensure that delivery would be fast. To do that, he placed the pizzerias near college campuses. This strategy was successful, and the company grew rapidly.
In the early years of Domino’s growth, the company faced several challenges. One of them was a lack of differentiation from its competitors. Another was a high turnover rate among Domino’s employees. To help address these issues, new CEO John Doyle restructured the company and made changes to its product line.
He also reorganized the delivery system. Domino’s now allows customers to place orders online, via phone or a mobile app, directly from Twitter, and by texting an emoji. It’s also experimenting with autonomous vehicles for pizza delivery. There’s certainly substance behind these efforts, but they’re also meant to modernize Domino’s image and create a brand that’s cool and hip.
One of the most popular games with dominoes is a simple game called Block. Each player takes turns playing a domino on the table positioning it so that its end touches another domino’s end. Then, that domino can’t be played until the next person plays a domino touching its end. Eventually, the chain builds until someone makes a mistake. Then, the last domino is removed from the board and that player loses a turn.
There are many other variations of domino games, including scoring games and a number of blocking games. Some of these games have religious roots, such as a version of solitaire that was once popular in certain parts of the world to circumvent church-approved prohibitions on the use of cards.
The most exciting use of dominoes is in artistic arrangements. These can be as simple or elaborate as the maker wishes. They can include straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures like towers and pyramids. The artist behind some of these arrangements is an engineer named Hevesh, who works for the Domino’s Pizza franchise.
To create her intricate designs, Hevesh uses science to her advantage. “Gravity is the main thing that allows my projects to work,” she says. “When a domino is standing upright, it has potential energy or stored energy based on its position. As it falls, that potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, which causes the next domino to topple.”
Hevesh carefully tests each part of her projects before putting them together. She also films each test for slow motion playback to make sure it will be successful in its final form. Some of her largest installations can take several nail-biting minutes to fully fall.