Domino, also spelled dominoe or dominoes, is a game of chance and skill involving small rectangular blocks with one side bearing an arrangement of spots—known as “pips”—and the other blank or identically patterned. A complete domino set contains 28 such pieces, and players can play a variety of games with them. Dominoes are often used to teach children number recognition and counting skills. They can also be stacked on end in long lines and tipped over to set off a chain reaction.
The word domino is also used in the phrase domino effect, which refers to a chain-like sequence of events triggered by one event. It may be used literally (as in referring to a row of falling dominoes) or metaphorically (to describe a chain-like pattern in other areas such as global finance or politics). The term can also be applied to political events or ideas, including the view that once one country adopts a certain policy, other countries will follow suit.
While her powers are not always under her control, the mutant mercenary Domino subconsciously generates a psionic aura around herself that alters probabilities, giving her good luck while harming her opponents. This can range from making a gun malfunction to turning off an overloading machine, and it allows her to work with her Six Pack teammates and the time-traveling mutant Cable (Nathan Summers).
A Domino Effect
A domino effect is a phenomenon in which one event causes a series of similar or related events that build on each other. The term is named for the way a row of dominoes falls over after a single tile is knocked over. The effect can be seen in physics, biology, finance, and even human behavior.
When playing a domino game, players draw tiles from a shuffled stock of 28 dominoes known as the boneyard. The tiles are then positioned on-edge in front of the players, so that their values are visible but their identity is not. The first player to reach a specified point wins the game. There are many variants of domino, but most involve emptying one’s hand while blocking the opponent’s play. Some games, such as bergen and muggins, determine points by counting the domino pips in the losing player’s hand.
Despite her mercenary skills, Domino has a strong conscience and fights for mutant rights. She has joined forces with the Six Pack, X-Force, and the X-Men in battles against villains from Stryfe to Mister Sinister. She has also served as the bodyguard of genius scientist Milo Thurman and, when a raid by A.I.M. forced him into deeper cover, she joined the Wild Pack—now renamed the Six Pack—led by Cable.
During her year-long captivity by the emotion-manipulating mutant Psycho-Man, Domino resented his agent Copycat, who had impersonated her. The two fought when the shapeshifter escaped into the Microverse, but later they reformed X-Force to oppose the Undying alien Aentaeros. In the process, they reunited with Cable and his old teammates Grizzly and Hammer.