Dominoes and Writers

Dominoes are a type of game piece that is played on a flat surface. Each domino has a distinct pattern on one side and is blank or identically patterned on the other. The identifying marks on the domino are called pips. The number of pips on a domino indicates the value of that domino when used in a game. There are many variations of games that can be played with dominoes, including blocking and scoring games.

The most common use of domino is in positional games, where each player in turn places a domino edge to edge against another, with the aim of forming a line of adjacent dominoes that either match (e.g., 5 to 5) or form some specified total. These games are generally played with a single double-six set of dominoes, but there are many other variants.

Many domino games involve scoring by counting the pips in a player’s tiles in relation to those of their opponents’, such as in bergen or muggins. Blocking games such as matador, Mexican train, and chicken foot are also popular. Some domino games are adaptations of card games, and were originally played to circumvent religious bans on playing cards.

A domino effect refers to the way that a small change can impact a large number of other things in a significant or even dramatic fashion. For example, a new law that requires drugstores to offer same-sex couples the option of buying birth control is likely to lead to an increase in same-sex marriages across the country and beyond. Similarly, the introduction of a single new antibiotic may cause resistance to existing antibiotics and trigger a widespread pandemic.

In writing, a domino effect can be the result of a writer neglecting to connect scenes in a coherent manner. The result is that the reader loses track of the action and is left with an uneasy sense that something is missing.

To prevent this from happening, writers should consider how the scene ahead of them connects to the one that comes before it in order to ensure a smooth flow of information and logical development. Writers who write by the seat of their pants can use scene cards or tools like Scrivener to help them plot out a story before beginning to write.

As a career mercenary, mutant Domino was employed as a bodyguard to the genius Milo Thurman but was separated from him when a raid by A.I.M. terrorists forced the scientist under deeper cover. She later joined the Wild Pack – subsequently renamed the Six Pack – led by the mutant soldier Cable (Nathan Summers). During her time with the Six Pack, Domino was captured and impersonated by her former colleague Copycat. She has since worked for the Hong Kong branch of X-Corporation and fought alongside the mutant team X-Force. She is able to manipulate the laws of probability to shift odds in her favor and is a weapons expert, adept martial artist, and accomplished linguist.