A Little History!

Even though dice are older, dominoes are antique as well. The first record of them comes from twelfth century China, where they were probably used for divination rather than gaming. In fact, some antiquarians believe dominoes evolved as an early form of dice, a variety that was employed exclusively for occult practices.

They are still widely used for fortune telling in Korea and India; and in both India and China there are domino games that combine gambling and augury. Certain tiles are thought to be lucky for a player, regardless of the outcome of the game.  Dominoes apparently made their way to Europe by way of China, and in the West, the tiles took on their current name and a more modern form. By the end of the eighteenth century, they were in use in Italy, France, and England.

They were probably named after a black and white masquerade costume called the domino.. popular in Europe at the time.. that matched the color combination of the common ebony and ivory tiles. Modern dominoes are usually made of wood, ivory, or plastic.  Standard sets in the West consist of twenty-eight rectangular tiles, one of them completely blank and the others marked on one side with dots. Each tile is bisected and the halves that are not blank bear dots numbering one to six. Thus they represent all the possible number combinations, ranging from double blank to double six. In their occidental incarnations, dominoes have tended to be far more popular as a game than as a tool for divination. Even so, Western methods for telling fortunes with them have evolved over the centuries and still persist. The next page will explain how to use dominoes for readings.