Dominoes
History
The history of domino games goes back hundreds of years. Dominoes were initially a spin-off from dice and are thought to have originated in China around the 13th or 14th century. Traditional Chinese dominoes were usually made from bone or ivory and were known as kwat p'ai (bone tablets), hence we get terms such as the boneyard. The game of Mah Jong probably derived from early oriental domino games.Chinese domino sets didn't have the same 28 values as the sets we buy today. Only the numbers from 1 to 6 were used, however a set consisted of 32 tiles. This was because some possibilities were represented singly, others were duplicated. Those tiles that appeared only once were known as the military series, those with duplicates as civilian. This division into military and civil reflects the origins of dominoes in Chinese dice where they formed the two "suits" in games such as Throwing Heaven and Nine.
Some people believe that dominoes were invented in parallel in Europe, however many believe they reached Western Europe from China via traders. The game is first recorded in the West early in the 18th century and became especially popular in the Italian courts from whence it spread throughout Europe. The name domino was coined in the 19th century. It may have been a reference to the black and white hood worn by French priests or to the masks worn at masquerades.
There are of course many different domino games each with their own rules. Most fall into the block or draw categories.
Since dominoes initially represented the posible throws on a pair of dice, only the values one to six were used. The blank was a later innovation. Today the double six with blanks is the most common domino set in the West, however you can also buy other versions from double nine sets up to double twelve, double fifteen or even double eighteen. These sets tend to be used for longer or more complex games such as Chicken Foot or Mexican Train.
Today the principle of dominoes has been adapted in many ways, especially for children. You can buy domino stye games that feature all sorts of illustrations such as Hello Kitty, Dora the Explorer and even Nintendo characters. You can also play online, although personally I prefer the tactile feel of real tiles.