Dominoes are a fun toy and can be used for games, puzzles, and art. Some people even create elaborate domino sculptures and setups to entertain and impress others. Creating a good domino requires planning and effort, but the results are well worth it. Having the right mindset is also important when creating a domino. A domino should be a task that contributes to a bigger goal and will have a positive impact on the future. For example, composing a novel may be a challenging project, but it could be broken down into several good dominoes such as outlining the story or creating a financial plan. Each domino will make the final manuscript easier to compose, and they will lead to a finished product that is more appealing to readers.

A domino is a rectangular tile with a line down the middle to separate it into two squares. Each end is either blank or has a number of spots, called pips. The number on the end corresponds to a certain value for the domino, which is determined by the rules of the game being played. Traditional domino sets contain one unique piece for each possible combination of values from one to six pips, but larger sets are available with up to 190 dominoes.

The most common domino games are blocking and scoring. In a blocking game, players in turn place a domino edge-to-edge against another so that the adjacent faces match. The player then plays a new domino that either adds to the existing chain or forms some specified total. When the first player completes the chain, he or she wins.

In a scoring game, the objective is to attach a domino from your hand to an end of those already on the table so that the sum of the ends is divisible by five or three. Each time you do, you score a point. For instance, placing a double on top of a stack of three can yield nine points because four at one end plus three at the other equals 13.

Dominoes are most often used for playing positional games, but they can also be utilized to play strategy and memory games. In addition, some people use them to train their attention or concentration skills. A domino game can help with relaxation and de-stressing.

Many dominoes are glued together with water-soluble glue to prevent them from sticking to surfaces. The adhesive is not permanent and can be easily removed with warm water and soap. Some people also use acrylic or polyurethane varnish to give a finishing touch on their dominoes.

In risk analysis, the domino effect is a term for the way in which a change in one factor can have a chain reaction with other factors that can lead to a disastrous event. The domino effect can be analyzed using models such as Bayesian network technology and Monte Carlo simulation. These techniques can help identify and quantify uncertainties in data and model of a chemical process accident.