During the mid-18th century, domino games began appearing in Italy and France. The game spread to Austria and southern Germany in the following decades. It was later adopted by England and France as well. Traditionally, dominos are made of dark hardwood such as ebony and ivory.

There are many different domino games, however, the most basic is played with two players. To start the game, the first player draws a domino and lays it on the table face down. The second player then draws a tile and lays it on the table face down. Both players then take turns turning over two of their tiles at a time.

Before drawing the tiles, the players decide on a target score. The goal is to reach the target score by adding up the number of pips on the opponent’s tiles. If the opponents’ tiles don’t add up to the target score, the players can turn back the tiles. The player who has reached the target score wins the game.

Before playing, each player draws a domino from the deck, and each player then lays it on the table face down. These pieces have a line down the center and identifying marks on one side. A number of domino sets are available, including double-18, double-nine, double-twelve, and double-twenty-one sets. Each set contains a unique piece for each possible combination of numbers. The most popular set is the double-six set, which has numbers from 0-6, but the number can vary.

Each domino has a number on each end. These are sometimes called pips, but the number can vary depending on the set. The pips on the end of the domino are used for matching purposes. The numbers on each end are arranged in pairs, which are called a suit. Each tile is assigned a number by the suit it belongs to. Doubles belong to only one suit, while singles belong to two. If a player is playing a double, he or she must place the tile perpendicular to the other end.

Depending on the size of the domino, it can be lined up in rows. It’s common for dominos to be about two inches wide and twice as long as they are tall. The tiles are usually marked with a line down the center and a number on each end.

There are a variety of games to play with dominoes, including the popular Mexican train game. Some of these games, like the Matador game, require the players to block opponents’ play. Other domino games are trick-taking games. In some versions of these games, both players have to chip out to win.

The most common domino set has numbers from 0 to 6, but there are other sets, including double-nine and double-twelve. These sets have 55 and 91 tiles, respectively. These sets can be played by two or three players, and the number of players determines how many tiles are drawn from the deck.

Some versions of dominos also allow tiles to be joined to all four sides of the domino. This makes it easier to rotate the domino in place. It is important to place all the tiles in the same direction, and to make sure that all the faces are identical.