Domino is a game in which players try to place dominoes in a line or a shape that will be the highest when completed. The first player to do so wins the round or the game. There are many different games that use domino, and the rules vary by game and even by country. However, most domino games fall into one of four categories: bidding, blocking, scoring and round games.

A domino is a small tile that is normally twice as long as it is wide. It has a line in the middle to divide it visually into two squares with a contrasting arrangement of dots, called pips, on each side. A domino may have all or some of its pips colored black, white or a combination of both colors. The value of a domino is determined by its arrangement of pips on both sides, and this is known as its rank or weight.

The pips on a domino are usually arranged in the form of an upside-down pyramid. Each side of the domino has a set number of pips that are grouped into three, five or nine sets. Each of these groups has a specific color that is used to distinguish one domino from another. In addition, each end of a domino is marked with a particular number, either 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 (depending on the type of domino).

Once a domino has been placed, it is considered an active domino and is therefore vulnerable to being knocked over by other dominoes that are adjacent to it. This is why it is important to play on a hard surface, so that the tiles can be stood on edge and not touched by other pieces.

When the first domino falls, much of its potential energy converts to kinetic energy and pushes the next domino forward. This energy travels down the line until the last domino is knocked over. The speed at which a domino travels is dependent on its rank, as well as the distance from the point at which it was triggered.

As the dominoes fall, each of their ends are joined together. The number of ends that are joined is referred to as the count, and it is important to keep track of this in order to calculate the score at the end of a game. The count may also be used to determine the winner of a game.

In some games, the player with the heaviest tile begins play. If the heaviest tile is not a double, or if there is a tie in points, a new hand of dominoes may be drawn from the stock.

A common method of calculating the winning score is to add up all the individual numbers of each player’s losing dominoes at the end of the hand or game. This is a fairly accurate way of determining the winner, but it can be confusing to keep track of the individual values of each piece, and it requires that the losing players have a full set of dominoes.