Domino, also known as dominoes or dominations, is a game in which players place small rectangular blocks of wood, bone, or ivory, called tiles, side by side on end to form long lines. Each tile has a number of pips, or spots, on one face and is left blank or variously dotted on the other. The pips on each tile correspond to the values that can be scored in the game. The first player to score a specified value on the losing side wins the game. Many different games can be played with dominoes, including scoring games such as bergen and muggins, blocking games such as matador and chicken foot, and math-based games such as Mexican train and chinese checkers.
The game is a great way to teach the principles of sequence and order. It also promotes the concept of counting and pattern recognition, and it develops motor skills and hand-eye coordination. Children can learn the value of persistence, as the first domino in a line usually takes some time to fall. Children must overcome their natural tendency to give up when they encounter a difficult task, and instead, must learn to keep trying. This can be a valuable life lesson for them to carry into their schoolwork and other areas of their lives.
On a less esoteric level, the word domino is often used to describe a series of events that have a chain reaction, leading to larger-than-expected consequences. For example, a minor setback or inconvenience might have the effect of knocking over a series of work or personal commitments, resulting in an unexpected loss of income or reputation.
For fiction writers, the idea of the domino effect can help them think about how a novel’s scenes connect and progress. The idea is to use the scene dominoes in a manner that ensures that when each of them falls, it will cause the scene after it to logically follow through on the emotion or event indicated by the previous scene domino.
A domino rally is a remarkable sight. The builders of these long chains are renowned for their ability to construct intricate and imaginative structures before an appreciative audience. In fact, there are even television shows in which a group of competitors vies to see who can build the most dominoes in the shortest amount of time. Whether you write your manuscript off the cuff or carefully adhere to an outline, using the concept of the domino effect can help you construct a novel with a strong and compelling plot. And if you happen to catch one of the live domino rallies on TV, be sure to cheer for your favorite builder! They deserve it.
