Domino’s has had a remarkable turnaround since its slump and near-death experience. Its revival has been attributed to many things, including its better supply chain and a refocusing on digital channels. But perhaps its most effective strategy is its delightfully offbeat marketing campaigns. The company has used them to promote its pizza in a variety of every-day situations—hungover days, break-ups, nights in, and even a domino-themed dating app. These ad campaigns are more than just stunts: they’re smart and creative ways of increasing brand awareness and, ultimately, sales.

A domino is a rectangular plastic tile with one or more printed numbers in the shape of dots (also called pip marks) on each face. The numbering system differs between different sets of dominoes, but the most common variant has two numbered sides, each with the same value and a blank or “non-marked” side. Each side of a domino has an area that is “open,” or capable of being connected to another domino by playing the appropriate tile.

Each player takes a turn by placing one domino edge to edge against an existing domino on the table. The domino must be positioned so that either the adjacent sides show identical numbers or form a specified total. When a domino is played so that one of the ends is open, this is known as a “stitched-up” end, and the adjacent dominos are then said to be a part of that player’s chain.

The number of open ends in a domino chain determines its rank or weight. In the most popular game, each domino has a value of six pips on its two marked surfaces. However, a domino can also have a value of three or two, depending on the rules of the game being played. Some dominoes have no pips and are simply white or black; these are often considered the lightest.

Dominoes are usually stacked in rows or columns, with the larger tiles at the top and the smaller ones at the bottom. In most games, each domino is a part of a domino chain that grows in length as more tiles are added to it. When a domino is added to the chain, it is known as a “drop.”

Once the first domino has been dropped, it takes energy for its neighbors to push on it. This is why the initial domino has inertia—it resists motion until enough external forces are applied. But a small nudge is sufficient to displace enough of the potential energy to trigger the domino’s fall.

In some games, players draw new dominoes from the stock before they begin to play. This is done in order to determine seating arrangements, which may be based on the numbers of pips on each domino, or on a specific rule variation (for example, doubles may count as one or two, and double-blanks are considered “wild”). The player who makes the highest score after a set number of rounds wins the game.