Online domino is a game that uses a computer to play against players who are connected to the internet. It is an excellent way to learn the rules of different games and improve your strategy for winning. It is recommended to start out with a few simple games against the computer and move up to games against other people as you get more experience. The more you practice, the better you will become at dominoes.
Each player receives a set of domino tiles that are presented to him or her on a board, which is then divided into regions for different games. Each region contains a number of possible placements for the dominoes. The first player to place a domino that has the same number of spots on both of its ends can remove his or her tiles from the board. This process is repeated for the other players until all of the dominoes have been removed.
A dominoes game can be played with up to five people, although two or three is a more common number of players. The rules of the game vary by country and even between groups of friends. Some games are very complicated and require strategic thinking to win, while others are more relaxed and simply involve placing tiles on the board.
The game is governed by a set of rules that may be agreed upon by the players, or that can be found in a book. A typical set of dominoes has 28 tiles, called dominos or pieces (also referred to as bones, stones, cards or rocks). Each tile has two ends that can contain up to six pips.
Before the first game begins, each player shuffles the tiles face down on a flat surface, thoroughly mixing them by moving the hands over them. A single player may shuffle the tiles for all of the games, or players may take turns shuffling. The winner of the previous game often shuffles for the next one, but the rules may specify that the highest double or heaviest single begins the game.
Once the tiles are shuffled, each player draws one from the stock of dominoes. If there is a tie, it is broken by drawing new dominoes from the stock until a player has a domino in his hand that can be placed.
The object of the game is to place all of a player’s tiles in a line that connects them with the exposed ends of the other players’ tiles. This line of play is known as a layout, string or chain of dominoes. If the resulting chain is complete, that player wins and scores points based on the number of pips remaining on his or her opponents’ tiles. The game can also be scored by making the exposed ends of a domino total a multiple of five. The player that scores the most points at the end of a hand wins.