Domino is a tile game with many variations that are played on a table. The tiles are typically rectangular and have an arrangement of spots, or “pips”, on one side and a blank or identically patterned side. Most dominoes are numbered on both ends, although the numbering is not always consistent from set to set. The numbering is most often done using Arabic numerals. The number of spots on the domino is usually referred to as its pip count, but some sets use more readable Roman numerals.

There are many games that can be played with domino, but the most popular are blocking and scoring games. These are normally played with one or more people, with each player taking turns placing dominoes on the table edge to edge, forming chains that grow in length. Each time a domino is played, it must touch either the adjacent end of another domino or a designated point that must be reached before play continues. If a chain has a number that is not yet reached, the players may “stitch up” the ends of the chain by placing one or more dominoes with numbers showing on both sides.

A domino effect occurs when a small trigger starts a larger cascade of events, such as an event that results in a political crisis. In fact, the idiom domino was originally used in this way, when a newspaper columnist for the New York Times, Walter Alsop, wrote about a speech given by President Eisenhower in which he described America’s offer of aid to South Vietnam as a scenario where the “falling domino” principle might apply.

In the business world, dominoes are a common tool for goal setting and performance management. A common technique is to rank the tasks in a day and concentrate on the most important task first, with all other activities relying on its completion. The other tasks will then fall into place with the momentum created by the completion of the main domino. This type of activity can be seen in the Bethlehem Steel turnaround, where a change was implemented that prompted a series of events that ultimately resulted in the company becoming the largest independent steel producer in the world.

The domino effect is also commonly cited in the context of writing fiction. Whether you are writing a story off the cuff or following a detailed outline, thinking about how your characters’ actions will impact each other can help create an engaging story that keeps readers turning the pages.