There’s nothing quite like a domino run–and one made with wood blocks comes with a particularly fine sound–but which blocks are best, and flexible in other builds?
My all-time favorite pieces for the domino charts are the Grimm’s Color Rally charts, but we use a lot of different pieces, and its really fun to play with the sizes for a variety of sounds and tempos.
There are a lot of very similar looking sets that are easily mixed up when you’re looking at domino-shaped pieces. Please check out this article for a chat-through of these.
The Grimm’s Color Rally Charts (#2) are my favorite of dominos because the edges are cut square and they’re easy to stand on end.
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US: Wooden Wagon
Canada: Modern Rascals
For smaller hands, the Ocamora Large Tablets are perfect. thick and stable, they’re great for quick success (and we use them ALL the time when we’re building too).
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Modern Rascals
Natural Baby Co
For stable hands, the sticks from the Just Blocks set add a really fun effect.
In the run above, we used Kapla Blocks to build the tower to knock over, but find them to be a little tippy on their own for domino runs. The Gluckskafer Slats are one of our favorite sets, but the medium and tall pieces are hard to stand up, making them a little frustrating as dominoes, so while some of the set works, many of the pieces do not. They could be used (as talked about below) as a track on which to build a run.
As you’re building, if you’re making a long run, be sure to leave gaps between the dominoes every once in a while, so that if you accidentally knock over part of it, you don’t lose everything! Right before you’re ready to set off the full run, add in the missing pieces.
The exciting part of the run is the tiles themselves, but when you’re looking to set up a satisfying domino run, the first thing you need is a solid surface to work on. One option is to grab a sheet of plywood from the hardware store, but if you’re looking for something more compact, there are some other options. We often use the Just Blocks flats to create a path, but really any thing flat and wide enough works.
The Just Blocks sets come with flats in two sizes: 10×20 cm and 10×10 cm.
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Happy Monkey Miami
Natrual Baby Co
The Bauspiel color mats are also fantasic–each set comes with 10x10cm, 10x20cm and 20×20 cm pieces. (Grimm’s color mats are also a good alternative, but no longer made)
A curved run can be built on straight boards, but is especially pleasing on a curved track. The Bauspiel Giant Rainbow is 2.5cm wide, so works great as a base for narrow domino pieces in a curve
You can also use the Grimm’s building boards, either alone or combined with another set, to create a sturdy flat surface (and by all means try semicircles too! there’s lots you can use!)
For building Boards, shop here:
Shop here:
US: Natural Baby Co.
Wooden Wagon
Canada: Modern Rascals
Get creative! if you can stand it up, you can probably find a way to use it in a domino run! Happy Building!
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