Dominoes & Domino Games
Dominoes is a popular table-top game, believed to have originated in China, which uses rectangular tiles as playing pieces.
Each domino tile is divided into two halves by a line, and each half of the domino has a group of engraved spots, unsually from one to six, plus a blank. This is called a "double-six" set of dominoes. Other sets are available, some with as many as 21 spots.
Only a flat surface is needed to play a game of dominoes, on which the domino tiles are placed.
Variations of the game may be played by 2 to 8 players, although 4 person domino play is common in most locales.
Domino playing pieces may be referred to as tiles, or sometimes "bones". An individual piece is generally just called a "domino". The game's name may be spelled various ways, including domino, dominos, dominous, or dominoes.
A set of domino playing pieces can be used to play a variety of games. In that respect, dominos is much like dice or playing cards. "Playing Dominoes" refers to the general type of game being played.
As with playing cards, there are rules for dozens of different games that can be played with a set of domino tiles.