Dominoes are small flat rectangular blocks used to play a variety of games. They are normally stacked edge-to-edge on each other to form long lines, and they are topped with one or more squares marked with an arrangement of spots, called pips, or blank (or both). Each domino has a unique domino number that corresponds with its position in the set. Some dominoes are marked with numbers, while others have a pattern of dots to identify the domino as one of several possible values, from zero through six pips. A domino with six pips is considered to be much heavier than a domino with none or fewer pips, although the weight of a domino may also depend on its size and the material from which it is made.
Dominos are often used in games that involve constructing or knocking over elaborate domino setups, where the dominoes are placed in long rows and tipped over. When the first domino is tipped over, it causes the rest of the row to tip over, and so on, until all the dominoes in the line have fallen. The result is a dramatic display that can last for several nail-biting minutes as the dominoes tumble down according to the laws of gravity.
The game is a good way to help children develop their cognitive skills. It helps them to focus, improve their coordination and concentration, build independence, self-engagement and creativity. Children enjoy playing with multi-colour dominoes and they love to line them up, create intricate designs and watch them fall. Gift your kids with this dominoes set and they will have a blast while playing for hours.
If you have a set of dominoes at home, you can use them to teach your kids some basic numbers and counting techniques. You can take a piece of paper and colour it with the domino tiles’ colours, and ask them to place their selected dominoes on top of it, in order of their colour. This will help them recognise and remember the names of different colours.
Another interesting way to use dominoes is to play a domino game in which players earn points by placing particular configurations of dominoes or moving their entire hand around the table. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Hevesh, the domino artist who created a spectacular display for Katy Perry’s album launch, uses a variation of the engineering-design process to create her mind-blowing domino installations. She starts with a theme or purpose for the installation, brainstorms images or words that might represent that purpose and then plans how to construct the design. Hevesh then begins to lay the pieces of her installation, working from the center out. As she places each domino, she calculates where to place the next piece in her design and makes sure all the parts are connected with each other. Once she completes the design, she simply watches as the dominoes tumble in a beautiful display.