Domino is the name of a game played with small rectangular blocks of wood, bone, or ivory, each with a flat surface divided into two halves and each half either left blank or marked with dots resembling those on dice. The pieces are placed in a line with the end of one domino touching the end of another, and then the player takes turns playing tiles. As each tile falls, it triggers a chain reaction that continues until the last domino has fallen, or the players run out of tiles to play.
When a domino is played, the number of its pips determines whether it can touch other matching ends of the line. A chain of dominoes with matching numbers on both ends is called a “snake” line. A player who plays a domino which cannot touch an adjacent end of the line passes his turn and picks up a sleeping domino from the boneyard, adding it to his collection of dominoes. Each time a domino is played, the chain grows longer, and the pattern of dominoes can vary greatly depending on how each player decides to use his turn.
The classic domino set consists of twenty-eight pieces, but larger sets can be constructed. There are also specialized dominoes made of plastic, clay, metal, and marble. Some of these have a more novel look, while others are lighter and cheaper than traditional European sets.
There is an art to setting up dominoes into elaborate patterns. The pieces can be laid out in straight or curved lines, in grids that form pictures when they fall, or stacked walls and pyramids. Artists like Hevesh create these mind-blowing setups for a variety of reasons, including to entertain and delight people.
One of Domino’s core values is “Champion Our Customers,” and it has embraced the principle that listening to customer feedback leads to innovation and improvement. In fact, the company was so committed to this value that its previous CEO, David Brandon, and Doyle (the current president and CEO) took part in the same employee training program as their workers, and spoke directly with employees to see what they thought the company should be doing differently.
In addition to listening to customers, Domino’s has used its technology skills to innovate pizza delivery. The company has experimented with ordering through mobile apps, texting emojis, and even drones.