Dominoes

a game played with twenty-eight flat, oblong pieces of wood, ivory, or bone. The face of each piece is divided by a line across the middle into two square compartments. Each compartment is either a blank or contains from one to six pits or dots like those of dice. The lowest domino is a double blank; the highest a double six. Each number of dots from blank to six occurs on seven different dominoes, and twice on one of them. The number five, for instance, occurs opposite a six, a five, a four, a three, a two, a one, and a blank. The game is played in various ways. Usually the dominoes are shuffled about, spots downward. Each player draws a number agreed upon. The highest double is then played. The players follow in turn, each matching the end of a piece that does not join any other. If a four and a two are exposed, for instance, the player may match either. If he plays a two and a six, his successor must then play a four or a six. If a player is unable to match either end he must draw from the table until he succeeds in doing so. The player whose pieces are all placed first wins by the number of spots still held by his opponent or opponents. If neither player can match, and the extra dominoes have all been drawn, the game is blocked. The player having the fewest number of spots wins. The game is not without arithmetical value for young children. Even older persons find recreation in playing it. See Games