Domino is a family of tile-based games. The tiles are rectangular with two square ends, and each end is marked with a number of spots. The object of the game is to line up as many pairs of tiles as possible. Once you’ve reached your goal, the game is over, and you’ve won.

The first tile to be played is the 6-6. The player must position the tile so that it touches one of the ends of the domino chain. Then he or she can play any domino in the hand. The player who plays the same number on both ends is said to have “stitched up” the ends of the chain.

In the early 18th century, dominoes made their way to France, where they became a popular fad. The French also started making domino puzzles. The puzzles consisted of two types: those that involved a pattern, and those that required players to place the tiles according to arithmetic properties. The latter type was played with two players, while the former was played by four or more players.

There is some debate regarding the origin of dominoes. Some historians believe that the game originated in China. But there is no proof that the dominoes were invented in China. It was probably introduced to Europe by French prisoners in the 18th century. However, it is likely that the game came to Europe much later, and perhaps came to Europe through Italian missionaries in China.

Traditionally, the first player to play a hand is the one who has the most dominoes. However, in some versions of domino, players can connect tiles to all four sides of a line. Doubles are counted as one tile if they have pips on both ends. Those who don’t have any dominoes in their hand will have to draw them from unused tiles.

The game ends when the last player places the last domino. When this happens, all players turn up their dominoes and count the dots on them. If the last player has the lowest number of dots, he or she has won. In addition to winning the hand, the winning player receives a score equal to the unplayed dominoes of the opponent.

The most common domino set is the Double Six, which contains 28 tiles. However, some people prefer to use a larger set for games with several players. In addition, larger sets are often used for long games. The most common types of domino games are layout games and blocking games. They can also be calculated by counting the number of pips in the losing players’ hands.

Traditional domino sets contain unique pieces for all combinations of two ends with zero to six spots. The highest-value piece contains six pips on each end. The spots are usually arranged as six-sided dice. The double-six sets also contain seven blank tiles, allowing for a total of 28 unique pieces.