A domino is a small rectangular wood or plastic block, the face of which is marked with an arrangement of dots or spaces resembling those on dice. The other side is blank or identically patterned. Dominoes are commonly used for playing games such as agen, ben 10, matador and Mexican train. They can also be used to create works of art such as curved lines, grids that form pictures when they fall and stacked walls. Some are even 3D. When a domino artist like Hevesh designs her pieces, she must consider the laws of physics. Even the smallest domino can cause a chain reaction when it is knocked over. Gravity is one of the most important factors in a domino rally, and it takes several nail-biting minutes for the whole arrangement to be complete.

Dominoes are often described as having a “weight” or “rank.” This refers to the number of spots (or “pips”) on each end. The more pips on one end, the higher the rank. The value of a single domino may be based on this rank, or it may be determined by the way it is played: A domino placed horizontally, for instance, produces open ends in its row; if a second domino is then played to the right of that one, the dominos at those open ends become higher in rank than they would have been without the first tile.

In business, the domino effect is an idea that states that a small change in one area will affect many related areas. For example, if you start a company with only one office, the staff there will only be able to handle so much work at once. As your company grows, the amount of work that can be handled increases as well. This increase in volume will, if it continues for long enough, cause you to need more office space, hire more people, etc. These changes will all have a ripple effect, which, when combined, can make your company grow to the point where it can’t be contained in a single office.

As a writer, you can use the domino effect to your advantage when creating your novel’s plot. If you’re a pantser, meaning that you don’t create outlines before you write your novel, then you can rely on this concept to ensure that each scene logically leads to the next scene. If, for instance, a character uncovers an important clue in a mystery story and then the next scene doesn’t build on that clue, something is amiss. Considering the domino effect will help you avoid this.