A domino is a flat, thumbsized, rectangular block that bears an arrangement of from one to six dots or spots on two sides. Known as dominoes or dominators, they are used for various games in which players place them edge to edge so that the adjacent faces match or form some specified total. Most commonly, a player makes a play by placing a domino of his choice on the table. As each additional domino is played, a line forms across the table, called the line of play. This line is typically formed by matching the open ends of dominoes. There are some exceptions to this rule, as noted below.

The basic rules of domino are generally easy to understand, but the precise way in which they are interpreted can vary widely from game to game. For example, the words set, down, and lead refer to the first domino placed in a game, either at the beginning of the hand or on the opening turn. A second play may be made on top of the initial domino, or another tile of the same color may be laid on its side. In most games, the number of tiles a player may add to a domino is limited by the amount that he or she can “chip” out of his or her own hand (as indicated by the combination of the numbers of all of its pips).

While there are countless ways to play domino, most fall into one of four categories: bidding, blocking, scoring, and round. In a bidding game, the goal is to win the most points by outbidding other players for the right to play a specific domino. Blocking games involve using a domino to prevent a player from making a particular move, and scoring games are won by the players whose combined total of all their pips is lowest at the end of the hand or game.

As the pips on a domino come off, they leave behind a trail of little bumps or spots that indicate how many more pips it has left to shed. This indicates the domino’s current position in the line of play, and, in most cases, determines whether it can be played again or not.

During the time that Domino’s underwent its leadership change, the company grew rapidly and accumulated more than $943 million in debt. It was clear that something had to be done to address the company’s problems and save Domino’s.

The first step was to introduce new items and expand beyond pizza. While this was a small step, it was an important one for the company’s future. However, this initiative was not enough to reverse the company’s financial decline and make it profitable again. A few years later, the company was facing bankruptcy and had to restructure its business model completely. As part of this restructuring, Domino’s hired a new CEO, Steve Doyle. Although the changes at Domino’s were far-reaching, they were largely focused on addressing the company’s most significant problem: customer dissatisfaction.