Dominoes are a fun way to spend time with family or friends. They can also be used to create art. The domino effect is an interesting phenomenon that occurs when a single domino knocks down other dominoes in sequence, creating a cascade of effects.
A domino is a set of rectangular tiles made of wood or other material and decorated with pips, which are small round pieces of metal. The pips on the top half of the dominoes are often painted or inlaid with contrasting color, and the pips on the bottom half may be engraved or inlaid with a pattern.
Many different types of dominoes have been made over the centuries, and some can be very detailed. Some sets are hand-made from rare materials like bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (MOP), ivory, or ebony.
Some dominoes have pips that are colored differently than the rest of the tiles, such as red or black. This helps the player identify which domino they are holding without looking at the entire tile, as is sometimes done with other games.
The game of dominoes is played with two to eight players. Each player draws at random the number of tiles needed for the game, usually seven, and shuffles them face down onto a table. They are then placed on an edge in front of each player, so that the players can see which tiles they have but not the value of their opponents’ tiles.
When a domino is removed, it must be replaced by another that matches the value of the first. This process repeats until either one player wins by playing all of their dominoes or until no more dominoes can be played.
If a player does not have a matching domino, they must choose another one from the boneyard, which is the collection of dominoes that are left in front of the players. The player can choose a new tile that has the same value as the previous domino or a higher value.
In most games, the winner is the player who played the highest domino. This is because the domino with the most pips is considered the “heaviest” piece, and because it has the most value at the end of the game.
This is an important point to make. Some dominoes can be extremely heavy, weighing up to several pounds. They can also be very intricately carved and have detailed designs, including raised pips that are reminiscent of diamonds or other gemstones.
When building a domino art installation, Hevesh starts with the largest 3-D sections. She then adds flat arrangements and finally lines of dominoes that connect all of the sections together.
Hevesh takes great care to ensure that each section works correctly before she puts them up. To do this, she makes test versions of each section to make sure it is working properly before she actually installs them in her design. She then films the tests in slow motion so she can spot errors before the whole thing is put up.