What Is a Spot on a Domino Called?

A spot on a domino is called a pip. Since a pip refers to a dot or something small such as a seed, the spots on dice and playing cards are also called pips. Many domino games refer to pips in the instructions when naming the dominoes, as well as when describing the rules for playing and scoring the game.

Function

Each domino, or tile, has a line across the center and pips on one or both halves. The dominoes are named according to the number of pips on each side. For example, a domino with two pips on one half and three pips on the other is a 2-3. Tiles that have a matching number on one side are called a suit. For example, the 0-6, 1-6, 2-6, 3-6, 4-6, 5-6 and 6-6 all belong to the six suit. Tiles with the same number of pips on both sides are doubles. Most domino games require players to place dominoes by matching up tiles end to end according to the number of pips.

Features

Like dice, dominoes generally use a standard arrangement for the spots, or pips, on each tile. The one tile has a single pip in a the center. The two has its pips in opposite corners, while the three features pips in a diagonal line. The four has a pip in each corner, and the five has an extra pip in the center. The six has two columns of three pips each, and the seven has an extra pip in the center. The eight domino has a square of pips around the edge, and the nine has a grid of three by three pips. Larger numbers use similar arrangements of smaller pips placed more closely together, with twelves having a grid of four by four.

Size

The number of pips available in a domino set determines the number of tiles. Domino sets are named according to the tile with the largest number of pips. In a double-six domino set of 28 dominoes, the tiles have from zero to six pips on each side, with the double-six domino having the most pips. Double-nine sets have 55 dominoes, with zero to nine pips on each side. Double-twelve sets include 91 tiles, with zero to twelve pips on each side. Double-fifteen sets, with 136 dominoes, and double-eighteen sets, with 190 dominoes, are less common, but can be useful for games with many players that need a large number of dominoes.

Identification

Some domino sets use a different color for each number to make it easier for players to identify the value of each domino without counting the pips. Larger sets, such as the double-nine, double-twelve, double-fifteen and double-eighteen sets, often need to repeat colors, since there aren't enough distinguishable colors available to assign a unique color to each number. In these sets, the repeat colors generally occur in dominoes that are far apart in number, such as the one and the twelve being white, since the difference in the number of pips on the dominoes make them easy to tell apart.

Significance

Many games use the pip value of dominoes in playing and scoring the game. The pip value of each domino is equal to the total number of spots. For example, a 2-3 domino has a pip value of five. Dominoes that have the highest pip value are called the heaviest, while dominoes with the fewest pips are called the lightest. Many games require players to start with the heaviest double domino in the set. To score most games, the players add up the total pip value, or number of spots, of all the dominoes left in their hands, and the lowest total pip value wins.