The Art of Dominoes

A domino is a small, rectangular block of wood or plastic, with one side bearing an arrangement of spots or dots. The other side is blank or identically patterned. The most common set has 28 dominoes, each of which has a value (usually from one to six pips) based on the number of spots on the two ends. These pips form the domino’s identity-bearing face and give each piece a specific rank or “weight,” which may determine its role in different games. Dominoes are often played with hands facing away from each other and the players try to place their pieces in lines or angular patterns, then knock over all of the dominoes at the end of the line to win. Dominoes are also sometimes used to make artistic creations.

The name for this popular game is derived from the Latin dominus, meaning “lord,” or “master.” It was first used in the early 18th century, and the word was adopted by English in the mid-19th century. In recent years, the popularity of the game has increased worldwide, and it is now played in many languages.

Several types of dominoes are available, with most based on the number of pips on each end and on the way that the dominoes are stacked together. The most basic sets are called double-six, and they allow two players to play a simple block-and-draw game. In most Western domino games, the first player draws a single tile from the stock—also known as the boneyard—and then plays that tile on the table, followed by each other player in turn, choosing the highest-valued piece.

In addition to traditional pips-based games, the most common dominoes are designed with blank faces that can be used to create different types of artwork when they fall. They can be arranged in straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they’re flipped over, stacked walls and 3D structures such as towers and pyramids. In a typical domino art project, the artist creates a plan for how the piece will fall, including any text or imagery. Then, using a pencil or marker, the artist carefully places each domino on the track so it will line up with the intended pattern.

Dominoes are also often used to teach math and language skills. They are an excellent tool for developing children’s motor skills, as they are easy to grasp and manipulate. They can be used to learn counting, naming colors, shapes and numbers and to practice sorting and matching.

When a domino falls, much of its potential energy converts to kinetic energy, the energy of motion. Some of this energy is transferred to the next domino, which provides a push for it to fall. This continuing chain reaction continues until all of the dominoes have fallen, creating an intricate and often beautiful pattern in the process. In order to create these mind-blowing designs, Hevesh follows a version of the engineering design process: She starts by thinking about what she wants to achieve and brainstorming ideas for images or words that might be represented in her domino design.