Domino – The Game With 49,998 Steps

Domino is the name of a famous pizza chain, but it also refers to the game that begins with a single domino and ends with 49,998 steps in between. This simple, physics-based game is both addictive and a wonderful way to demonstrate the concept of kinetic energy.

The most basic Domino game is for two players, and requires a double-six set of dominoes. The 28 tiles are shuffled and formed into a stock or boneyard, from which each player draws seven. Each domino has a value that corresponds to its number of spots or pips, ranging from six down to none or blank. The player must match the value of their drawn domino to that of another domino in order to knock it over. Once that first domino falls, its potential energy converts to kinetic energy, and some of that energy is transferred to the next domino. This continues until the last domino falls, completing a chain.

A number of different games may be played using dominoes, from the classic strategy game Blocking and scoring to trick-taking games like Concentration. These games are often used to circumvent religious proscriptions against playing cards. Dominoes can also be used to create mind-boggling visual displays, such as massive sculptures or art installations that require several nail-biting minutes to complete. For example, a domino artist named Hevesh has created some of the most impressive and elaborate domino setups in the world, and shares her work on her YouTube channel.

Hevesh uses a version of the engineering-design process to plan and design her complex domino installations. She starts with the theme or purpose of an installation, then brainstorms images or words that might help her convey that message. She then sketches the final piece to scale, and finally builds it out of sandpaper or cardboard. Hevesh’s largest creations take a nail-biting few minutes to fall, but once they do, they reveal breathtaking patterns and shapes.

When Domino foiled a bank robbery by herself, she caught the attention of a federal agent who tracked her down. However, just before she could face him, she was snatched out of the timeline by Halloween Jack and returned to her normal timeline.

In her normal timeline, Domino joined the Weapon X program and became a member of Wolverine’s black-ops team, X-Force. During this time, she began searching for her mother and discovered Lazarus, who was revealed to be her half-brother and the true product of the Perfect Weapon program.

While it is common to think of Domino as a symbol for luck, her abilities are actually quite precise and well-honed. This is evident in the way that she can place a domino so precisely that it appears to be almost preordained to fall. The same precision can be applied to the way that writers should plot their stories, especially if they are pantsters (those who don’t use outlines or Scrivener). Do your scenes logically connect? Are they advancing your character’s emotional beats and goal as the events and scenes that preceded them suggest that they should?