Traditionally, dominoes are made of dark hardwood such as ebony or ivory. The face of the domino is covered with a white ivory “face”. The sides are rounded off to prevent scratches on the table. Spinners are also used, and they are usually metal. They hold two domino materials together, making it easier to rotate the dominos in place.

There are different types of dominos, including Chinese and European styles. European dominoes are carved from ebony, mother of pearl oyster shell, or silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell. They lack the Chinese suit distinctions, and are based on the number of pips on each side. The most common version of the game has six pips on each side.

To play, a player must select one tile and lay it in the middle of a table. The second tile is then played to the right of the first, and the third is played vertically. The fourth and fifth tiles are also played. Depending on the variation, the sixth and seventh tiles are played perpendicular to the first and fifth, and so on.

To score, the player must award pips on the other player’s tiles. This can be done in any way, such as by laying out tiles that form a specific total, or by adding up the pips on the other player’s tile. There are also various versions of the game that require both players to chip out.

Before the game begins, players must agree on a target score. The number of pips that each player will need to achieve to win a round of the game will determine the number of dominoes that the players draw. They can then take turns drawing a domino from the unused tiles. The last player draws a hand of the remaining dominoes. The game ends when a tower falls.

Originally, each domino represented one of twenty-one results of throwing two six-sided dice. It was not until the mid-18th century that Western dominoes were recorded, in Italy and France. A group of French prisoners of war may have introduced the game to England.

The first domino that a player plays is typically a double-six. It has six spots on each end, and is part of the suit of three. The second and third tiles are 3-5 and 5-5, and the fourth and fifth are 4 and 5. This set of tiles is commonly called a “double six” set. It can be very large, so it is not usually suitable for most games.

A number of variations of the game exist, such as the Concentration version, where the player needs to achieve a total of 12 pips on the board. The most popular variant is the All Fives game, which is very popular in the USA. A player can also use the simplest form of the game, where the number of pips is counted as a weight.

The game is a lot of fun. It involves a lot of shouting and giggling. If a domino falls, it starts a chain reaction that can tip over the entire stack.