Dominoes are a symbol of a chain reaction – one thing leads to another. Whether you’re lining up a bunch of them to make a shape or playing a game, dominoes are the result of a set of steps that build upon each other until the final outcome is revealed. If you’re a writer, the domino image can be a good metaphor for the way your story develops.
It’s a great idea to make sure your characters and setting are consistent, but be careful not to overdo it with repetitive scenes that bore readers or get too bogged down in the details of the same event. Your readers want to see your hero or heroine solve the mystery or complete the quest, but if the same events play out over and over again, they’ll start to tune out.
To keep things interesting, you can mix up the types of domino games that you use. Some of the most popular include block, scoring and skill-based games like domino solitaire or trick-taking games. Each of these requires different types of domino sets, with varying numbers of matching ends and pips. Generally, two dominoes are considered to match if their total pips add up to 12. Larger sets allow players to draw additional tiles from the stock, increasing the number of possible combinations of ends and tiles. This is called an extended set.
For example, the Double-Nine Domino set has 91 tiles. The larger the set, the more difficult it is to identify a match between two tiles because each end has more pips than the previous. To make the process easier, some extended sets have more readable Arabic numerals printed on their ends.
The word domino comes from the Latin dominium, meaning “flag.” It may refer to the ebony-black domino pieces that contrast with the white surplice worn by a priest during mass. But it’s more likely that the term is derived from an earlier sense of the word, which denoted a long hooded cloak or cape worn over a mask during carnival season or at a masquerade.
In 2004, Domino’s Pizza was $943 million in debt, and the hammer of failure was pounding at the door. The company’s then-CEO, David Brandon, knew something needed to change if Domino’s wanted to survive.
So he went undercover to find out what was wrong with the Domino’s experience. He worked in a restaurant and on the delivery side of the business to understand the big picture, then made changes that would affect all employees and customers.
Domino’s has now evolved into a connected experience that allows customers to embody the company. They’re not just the person who brings you the food you ordered, but they can also bring you a new kind of pizza or deliver a credit card device to your home.
Domino’s knows that their success depends on how well they connect with their customer base, and they do this by using data and technology to understand how people use their services so they can improve the experience for all of them. The next time you’re ordering from your local Domino’s, remember that if they didn’t know how to listen to their customers, they wouldn’t be in business very long.
