Domino, (also known as bones, cards, men, pieces, or tiles), is a small rectangular block, thumbsized in size, that is either blank or marked with from one to six pips or dots. A complete set of dominoes consists of 28 such blocks. A domino can be used to play a variety of games, most involving laying the dominoes down in lines or curved patterns and then tipping them over. The effect of a domino cascading across the floor is reminiscent of the firing of neurons in the brain, creating an aural and visual pulse as each piece falls.
Lily Hevesh first started playing with her grandparents’ classic domino set when she was 9 years old, and was immediately enthralled by the art of setting them up in straight or curved lines, then flicking the first domino over to start the chain reaction. Her hobby quickly grew into a full-time career, and she now creates spectacular domino designs for movies, TV shows, and events.
Hevesh says she learned a lot from her grandmother, especially the importance of pace and timing. A domino construction isn’t effective if it takes too long between the first domino falling and the next domino being triggered; it must happen fast enough to keep the story moving.
The same principle applies to a novel: the scenes need to be spaced correctly if they’re going to have the desired impact. If a writer pants, or doesn’t make detailed outlines of the plot ahead of time, she can end up with scenes that are too long (heavy on details and minutiae) or too short (not pushing the tension forward enough).
In domino, each player places one tile edge to edge against an adjacent piece so that its sides match. If a single domino has a value of six, it is called a “double,” and when played to another double, the two dominoes must be touching at both ends, or “touching.” The resulting chains develop snake-like shapes on the floor.
There are many different types of domino games, and the rules vary according to the particular type. In general, players win by being the last to chip out—that is, place a tile with no value—or when it becomes clear that nobody can play any more. Some games involve blocking, while others are scoring games such as bergen and muggins, where the winning players are those with the most total spots (or pips) on their remaining pieces.
Domino’s stumbled into trouble when its leadership changed, and new CEO Steve Doyle was tasked with turning the company around. He stuck closely to Domino’s core values, including “Champion Our Customers.” By listening to customer feedback and introducing new pizzas, Domino’s got its groove back. The company also focused on improving its technology, and now allows people to order pizza by text or through devices like Amazon Echo. These changes kept Domino’s relevant and in the forefront of innovation.