Domino is a tile-based game played with two or more people. The pieces are normally twice as long as they are wide and feature a line in the middle to divide them visually into squares that each contain an arrangement of spots, known as pips. The value of each domino depends on the number of pips on one side and on whether it is blank or identically patterned on the other. The pips on the dominoes also differ depending on whether the piece is double-six, double-12, or double-18.
In a domino set, players take turns laying down one tile at a time until a chain reaction occurs and all of the tiles have fallen. The first player to reach the end of the line wins the game. Dominoes are used in a variety of games, from simple to complex.
A domino can also be a metaphor for a series of events or reactions, such as the domino effect. The term was popularized in 1955 when American President Dwight Eisenhower invoked the falling domino principle to describe America’s offer of aid to South Vietnam, saying that America’s help could lead to Communist expansion into other countries, just as a single domino can knock over other dominoes.
When it comes to writing, a domino effect is often used to mean that one scene sets off the next scene in a smooth action that builds until reaching its climax. Getting the scenes in your story to fall like dominoes isn’t easy, but it can be done with careful planning and a good outline. Using a plotting tool like Scrivener can also help you to weed out scenes that don’t have enough logical impact on the scenes ahead of them.
The idiom also means a sudden, dramatic shift in something; for example, the resignation of a CEO or the closing of a store can have a domino effect on many other business decisions. It can also refer to an uncontrollable sequence of events, such as a domino effect that resulted from the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Leadership and management are sometimes confused with domino, but they have different meanings in the workplace. Leadership has to do with making a difference and having influence, while management is more bureaucratic in nature.
Domino’s Pizza has a solid leadership structure, which can be seen on its Undercover Boss TV show when the company’s CEO sends himself undercover to work in some of their busiest stores and to observe their delivery service. This gives him a chance to see how the employees interact with their customers and how the store management makes decisions.
An artist named Hevesh is famous for her intricate domino sculptures, which she showcases on her YouTube channel. She has created some massive setups that took several nail-biting minutes to fall, including a circular arrangement of more than 300,000 dominoes. She has also worked on a number of Hollywood projects and helped to create a domino setup for a Katy Perry album launch.