Setting Up a Domino Topple

Setting up a domino topple is relatively straightforward but it will take patience and some practice. Its best to set up a few short topples to get a sense of how the dominoes act and how far apart they need to be set. Also note that dominoes act a little differently on different surfaces: the ideal surface is flat, firm, clean and not too slippery. A hardwood floor is perfect, but many other surfaces work fine; experimentation is key. Executing turns with a line of dominoes takes some practice, but again, practice and try out a few different methods to determine which works best.

One of the most frustrating things that can occur is to have some (or all) of the dominoes fall over inadvertently. This can occur if the table is mistakenly shaken, or if you accidently knock over one of the dominoes. The best remedy for this is to operate in distraction free locations and to use stoppers as shown on the right; a stopper is simply two pieces of wood glued or nailed together to prevent unwanted topples. These can be placed every 30 or 40 dominoes so that if a line is struck, the damage will be limited. You can also remove every 30th or 40th domino which will also prevent all of your work falling down before you. Just make sure that before you begin an intentional topple, you remove the stoppers or add the omitted dominoes so you have a uninterrupted display.

Design Considerations

Materials

You can use any type of wood, but we were satisfied with the 3/8" (9mm) thick plywood. We tested 1/2" (13mm)thick plywood and it also works fine.

Size

The size of the dominoes is relatively important. We made ours larger than standard dominoes and were pleased with the result. Taller dominoes become more difficult to balance unless you use thicker wood but they can be placed further apart. The best policy is to try several different combinations and use them all. You can set up a line that begins with short dominoes and progresses to taller and taller dominoes which are spaced further and further apart; this setup slows down the clapping sounds between domino impacts and creates and interesting effect.

Other ideas

The possibilities are boundless and we have just tried to illustrate the wide variety of interesting elements that you can introduce into a domino topple. The image on the right shows an additional idea created by integrating this project with a previous one: the impossible stack project.