Domino is a game where players take turns trying to place dominoes on a board. A player wins by knocking over all of the opposing players’ dominoes or when no one can play anymore. Players must pay attention to the position of each domino and carefully plan their next move.
A domino is a small block-shaped piece of plastic or wood with a number of spots on it. These dots are known as pips, and the markings on a domino can symbolize anything from the results of throwing two six-sided dice to the names of famous people. People have been using dominoes to play games since the 1300s, and today there are many different types of games that can be played with them.
The earliest dominoes were made of stone, ivory, bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), or wood, with inlaid black or white pips. Those that were made of natural materials looked more beautiful and weighed more than their polymer counterparts. They were also more expensive.
In the 1950s, the president of the United States, Dwight Eisenhower, used a domino analogy to describe the way Communism would spread throughout the world like a falling row of dominoes. The idiom has since become a popular metaphor for any scenario in which one small trigger starts a sequence of events that continues to grow until it is overwhelming.
Dominoes are small enough to be managed in a tight workshop, yet detailed and intricate enough to demand respect for the craftsman who makes them. They can be used to create straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, or 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. Artisans use them to create functional pieces of furniture as well as decorative works of art.
While some people enjoy playing domino with friends or family, others are more interested in the physics behind the chain reaction that occurs when one domino topples another. Stephen Morris, a physicist at the University of Toronto, explains that when a domino is standing upright it has potential energy based on its location. When the domino falls, much of this energy is converted into kinetic energy that causes other dominoes to tip over as well.
When writing a story, thinking of each plot beat as a single domino can be helpful for organizing your ideas. This technique can help you build a clear timeline of what happens when, and why things happen the way that they do. This is especially important for complex narratives with multiple strands and characters. Whether you write off the cuff or with a meticulous outline, domino theory can help you plot your novel successfully.