Domino is a game that involves building structures with pieces of wood or other materials. The resulting structures can be flat, 3-D, or even massive enough to create Rube Goldberg machines and other art. In addition to being fun for kids, Domino also helps develop their fine motor skills and spatial awareness. They can learn to recognize colors and improve their hand-eye coordination by placing the dominoes in exact spots next to each other.

In most Domino games, each player starts with a set of dominoes. Each domino is usually twice as long as it is wide and features a line in the middle to divide it visually into two matching ends. One of the ends may be marked with a number of dots, called pips, while the other is blank or left empty. The value of a domino is the sum of the values of its pips. A domino with more pips is a heavier tile than a domino with fewer or no pips.

Each player takes turns picking a domino from the stock and then playing it on the table by positioning it so that its matching end touches an edge of an existing domino chain. This allows the chain to grow and can lead to interesting patterns. When a domino is played, it usually sets off a series of chains that are sometimes called “domino chains” or “pips”. Each chain has its own style and can be a source of entertainment for players.

The game stops when either a player can no longer play any of the remaining dominoes, or if there are no more dominoes in the stock. When the game stops, the winner is the player whose total number of pips on all of his or her remaining dominoes is the lowest.

There are many different types of domino games, from simple blocking and scoring to more complex strategies involving the use of a variety of different domino pieces. Some of these games are adapted from card or dice-playing games, while others have a more natural origin. In some parts of the world, dominoes are used as a way to circumvent religious prohibitions against cards and dice.

A special type of domino is a domino track, which is a long line on which a toy train or car can run. These tracks are often made from wood or plastic, and may feature special shapes to allow the vehicle to travel along the track smoothly. There are also some tracks which include electronic controls and sensors, allowing the toy to move in response to changes in track conditions.

Domino art is a form of visual sculpture that uses dominoes to build intricate patterns. These can range from straight lines, curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall, or even 3D structures like towers and pyramids. While some people create domino art to express their creativity, there is a growing interest in using the tiles as a way to teach children about geometry and space.