Domino is a game that is played by placing small, flat pieces of cardboard on end in long lines. When the first domino is tipped over, it causes the others to fall over in an ordered sequence that can create very complex patterns. Dominos can also be stacked in 3-D to make towers and sculptures. Many adults use Domino to teach children number recognition and counting skills. Some schools even use the game to reinforce the concepts of gravity and balance in physics lessons.
Domino has also become a common metaphor for simple actions that create big impacts. The phrase was popularized by Admiral William H. McRaven in a commencement speech to University of Texas at Austin graduates in 2014. He encouraged the audience to be aware that every action they take will have a ripple effect.
Unlike playing cards, of which they are a variant, dominoes have a line or ridge that divides them visually into two squares, each marked with an arrangement of spots, or “pips,” similar to those on a die. The pips indicate the value of each domino, from six to none or blank. Each domino is also distinguished by the type of material it’s made from.
Like playing cards, dominoes can be used in a variety of games including blocking and scoring games. In a scoring game, one player tries to empty his or her hand before an opponent can. The value of a domino is determined by the sum of the pips it contains, with some games allowing players to count the pips on both sides of a domino.
When a player wins a game, he or she gains control of the entire row of dominoes that was previously owned by his or her opponent. Players may also exchange dominoes with other players in a “trade” of control.
In the comics, Domino is a mutant who has superhuman powers that allow her to manipulate probability to her favor. She is an expert markswoman, a weapons expert, and a superb athlete and martial artist. She has a psionic aura that alters probabilities to make improbable events happen within her line of sight, from having an enemy’s equipment malfunction to striking just the right button on a machine to shut it down. Domino has also worked with various teams of X-Men, including the Wild Pack and the Six Pack led by Cable. She and Cable share a romantic relationship.