History
Domino History: What the Sources Say
Domino did not start in the Dominican Republic. The oldest dominoes are Chinese; the game we play shows up in Europe in the mid-1700s. How it reached the country, no source records. Here is what is documented.
5 min read
Published April 3, 2026
Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer
How did domino get to the Dominican Republic?
No source we found records how or when domino reached the Dominican Republic. What is documented: the oldest dominoes are Chinese, though their link to the Western game is unclear (Britannica); the Western game is first recorded in Italy and France in the mid-1700s; and the Dominican record includes a domino club founded in Washington Heights in 1966, the Federación Dominicana de Dominó (1972), a 2012 Guinness record and the 2011 world title.
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The domino story online is often longer than the evidence. This page keeps to what encyclopedias, dictionaries, museums and the Dominican press actually say, and says so where the record is silent.
01.
The oldest dominoes: China
Britannica says dominoes originated in China, where they are mentioned as early as the 10th century. The Strong National Museum of Play and Stewart Culin's 1895 Smithsonian study also trace them to China. Chinese sets have 32 tiles and no blanks.
Per Wikipedia, citing historian Andrew Lo, the oldest confirmed written mention lists pupai, gambling tiles, sold by peddlers in Hangzhou under Emperor Xiaozong (1162-89). The link to the Western game is unclear: Britannica calls it as yet unclear, Wikipedia finds no confirmed link, and Culin wrote that he could not find the connecting links.
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Dominoes originated in China (Britannica, Wikipedia, Culin, The Strong).
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Chinese sets: 32 tiles, no blanks.
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The link to the Western game is unclear.
02.
The Western game: Europe, mid-1700s
Britannica says Western dominoes are first recorded in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. Per Wikipedia, the first dated record is the French magazine L'Avantcoureur, in 1762, and the game reached England by the late 1700s, reportedly with French prisoners of war.
The Western double-six set has 28 tiles: the 21 combinations of two dice plus seven tiles with a blank, as the University of Tulsa explains.
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First recorded: Italy and France, mid-1700s (Britannica).
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First dated record: L'Avantcoureur, France, 1762 (Wikipedia).
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28 tiles = 21 two-dice combinations + 7 with a blank.
03.
Where the word comes from
Merriam-Webster gives the word as French, probably from the Latin Domino in the formula benedicamus Domino. The RAE dictionary also takes it from French, and perhaps from that Latin formula. Merriam-Webster adds that it has only been suggested that the tiles recalled a priest's black cape, called a domino.
The linguist Roberto Guzmán writes in Acento that there is no consensus on the word's origin; Cuervo, for one, derived it from the Latin dominare.
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The word is French (Merriam-Webster, RAE).
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Probably from the Latin Domino; the priest's-cape link is only suggested.
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No consensus on the origin (Roberto Guzmán, Acento).
04.
The Dominican record
No source we found records how or when domino reached the Dominican Republic. Encyclopedias, museums and the Dominican press are silent on it, so we do not tell that part of the story.
In Washington Heights, domino-loving friends formed a club that was incorporated in 1966 as the Dominican Sports Club, today the Club Deportivo Dominicano (CUNY Dominican Studies Institute; New York State Senate). El Nuevo Diario reported in 2018 that the Federación Dominicana de Dominó (Fedodo) dates to 17 December 1972 and counted about 4,000 players in 25 associations.
In 2012, 3,344 people played domino at once in Santo Domingo, a Guinness record (El Nuevo Diario; Guinness World Records). In June 2011 the Dominican Republic won the IX world championship in San José, Costa Rica, against 19 countries, with the pair Claudio Uribe and Joaquín Martínez (El Día).
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How domino reached the country: not recorded.
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1966: club incorporated in Washington Heights.
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1972: Fedodo founded; about 4,000 players in 2018.
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2011 world title and 2012 Guinness record.
Bring this to the table
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The oldest dominoes are Chinese, but the link to the Western game is unclear.
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The Western game is first recorded in Italy and France in the mid-1700s.
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No source records how domino reached the Dominican Republic.
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Dominican milestones on record: a 1966 club in Washington Heights, Fedodo in 1972, 3,344 players in 2012 and the 2011 world title.
Questions from the table
Where did domino originally come from?
The oldest dominoes are Chinese, mentioned as early as the 10th century (Britannica). The Western game is first recorded in Italy and France in the mid-1700s, and its link to the Chinese tiles is unclear.
How did domino get to the Dominican Republic?
No source we found records it. The Dominican record starts later: a domino club in Washington Heights in 1966, the federation in 1972, the 2011 world title and a 2012 Guinness record.
Why is it called 'domino'?
The word is French, probably from the Latin Domino (Merriam-Webster, RAE). The idea that the tiles recalled a priest's black cape is only a suggestion, and the linguist Roberto Guzmán notes there is no consensus.
When was the Dominican domino federation founded?
El Nuevo Diario reported in 2018 that the Federación Dominicana de Dominó (Fedodo) dates to 17 December 1972.
Where this comes from
Want to check the details? These are the references we used.
- Dominó (Roberto Guzmán, De palabra en palabra)
Acento · Accessed October 15, 2026
Linguist Roberto Guzmán: no consensus on the origin of the word; Cuervo's Latin dominare.
- Club Deportivo Dominicano
CUNY Dominican Studies Institute · Accessed October 15, 2026
The 1966 Washington Heights club born from nostalgia and a love of dominoes.
- Estos son los récords Guinness que han alcanzado los dominicanos
El Nuevo Diario · Accessed October 15, 2026
The 2012 record of 3,344 people playing domino at once.
- Dominican Republic bar makes largest glass of mojito ever
Guinness World Records · Accessed October 15, 2026
Names the Santo Domingo record for the largest number of people playing dominoes.
- República Dominicana gana IX Campeonato de Dominó
El Día · Accessed October 15, 2026
The 2011 world title in San José, Costa Rica: 19 countries, Claudio Uribe and Joaquín Martínez.
- Dominoes
University of Tulsa · Accessed October 15, 2026
The 28 tiles as the 21 two-dice combinations plus seven tiles with a blank.
- domino (game piece)
Encyclopaedia Britannica · Accessed October 15, 2026
Chinese origin, 10th-century mention, unclear link to the Western game, Europe in the mid-1700s.
- Dominoes
Wikipedia · Accessed October 15, 2026
Oldest confirmed Chinese mention (per Andrew Lo), no confirmed link to the West, L'Avantcoureur 1762.
- Chinese Games with Dice and Dominoes
Smithsonian (Stewart Culin) · Accessed October 15, 2026
1895 study: Chinese dominoes have 32 tiles and no blanks; no connecting links to the Western game found.
- Dominoes
The Strong National Museum of Play · Accessed October 15, 2026
Museum entry tracing dominoes to China and the European set's extra blank tiles.
- domino
Merriam-Webster · Accessed October 15, 2026
The word is French, probably from Latin Domino; the priest's-cape link is only suggested.
- dominó
RAE · Accessed October 15, 2026
Spanish dictionary entry taking the word from French, perhaps from the Latin Domino.
- El Dominó, como deporte, se sigue masificando en el país (William Aish)
El Nuevo Diario · Accessed October 15, 2026
Fedodo dates to 17 December 1972; about 4,000 players in 25 associations in 2018.
- Resolution J3624 (2016), Dominican Sports Club
New York State Senate · Accessed October 15, 2026
Domino game lovers formed the club; incorporated 23 March 1966 as the Dominican Sports Club.
