Vertical 0–1 Domino Tile

A blank half and a one-dot half make this the 0–1 tile.

Chinese domino play predates the early fifteenth century; its dots reflect dice. In the twelfth century, tiles may have recorded the banker’s (dealer’s) throw in Tien Gow, a Chinese dice game. European dominoes took a distinct form in the eighteenth century, but their link to Chinese sets remains debated. Mahjong is another Chinese tile tradition; a direct link is unproven.

Why does its direction matter?

Direction distinguishes the written tile. Unicode encodes visually distinct rotations separately; font width or dot spacing may vary without changing the tile.

A Smithsonian account from 1893 documents Chinese domino divination.