History
The tiles are older in China than in Europe. How the European set is related to the Chinese one is still argued over.
The same article says the game of dominoes began in China around the 12th century. Britannica Kids Tile games have been found in China as early as 1120 CE, according to the Pagat history page. pagat.com The Chu sz yam (Investigations on the Traditions of All Things) stated that dominoes were invented by a statesman in 1120 CE, presented to the Emperor Hui Tsung, and circulated abroad by imperial order during the reign of Hui's son, Kao-Tsung (1127-1163 CE). Other interpreters say that this document refers to the standardization and not the invention of the game itself. pagat.com
Nobody is sure where or when Chinese dominoes came into existence, but they were reported by European travelers during the Renaissance and are still popular in Asian countries today. pagat.com According to Andrew Lo, the earliest extant manual on dominoes is by Qu You (1347-1433), who wrote the "Xuanhe paipu" (manual of dominoes in the Xuanhe period 1119-1125). pagat.com Xie Zhaozhe (1567-1624) mentions the legend of their invention in 1112. Even if these and various other references to 12th-century play are not to be trusted, they must certainly have been in use well before the early 15th century, when the first of these books was written. pagat.com
Michael Dummett, in The Game of Tarot, dates the introduction of dominos in Europe to Italy, possibly in Venice and Naples, in the 18th century. pagat.com Although domino tiles are clearly of Chinese inheritance, Pagat notes a debate over whether the European tile set came from China to Europe in the fourteenth century or later, or was invented independently. pagat.com Britannica Kids says Western dominoes probably developed later, independently from the Chinese version, in Italy or France in the 18th century. Britannica Kids
Did Western dominoes develop independently?
Britannica Kids says Western dominoes probably developed later, independently from the Chinese version, in Italy or France in the 18th century. Pagat treats Chinese tiles as clearly ancestral, or at least presumably ancestral, and notes a debate over whether the European set came from China in the fourteenth century or later, or was invented independently. Dummett, as quoted on Pagat, dates the European introduction to Italy, possibly Venice and Naples, in the 18th century. We report both wordings and do not pick a single origin story as the last word.
A single domino was found with the Mary Rose wreckage (early 16th century), but Pagat says it seems likely to have found its way there much later. If dominoes had existed in the 16th and 17th centuries, the page argues, they would not have escaped the record. pagat.com
The game moved from Italy to France in the early 18th century and became a fad. By the late 18th century, France was also producing domino puzzles. pagat.com The game arrived in Britain in the late 18th century from France (possibly via French prisoners of war) and quickly seems to have become popular in inns and taverns at the time. pagat.com Domino games are played all over the world, but they are most popular in Latin America, according to the same Pagat history page. pagat.com
On the same history page, Pagat says the word "domino" is most likely to be derived from the Latin dominus (the master of the house), and that the word first referred to a monastic hood, then a hooded masquerade costume with a small mask, then the mask itself, and finally to one of the pieces in the set, namely the [1-1] tile. pagat.com Later on the same page, Pagat also writes that "Domino" is French for a black and white hood worn by Christian priests in winter, which is probably where the name of the game derives from. pagat.com
Where does the word "domino" come from?
The Pagat history page gives two accounts on the same page: that the word is most likely from Latin dominus, and later came to name the [1-1] tile; and that "Domino" is French for a black and white priest's hood, which is probably where the name of the game derives from. Those are not quite the same story. We leave both in view.
Many of the games we associate with dominoes are quite modern. The block games seem to be the oldest of the European games. But Muggins dates from the early 20th century. pagat.com Among the variations it names are matador, which involves presenting a number that will total seven when added to an end, and muggins, in which the goal is to make the total of the open-ended pieces in the layout a multiple of five. Britannica Kids
There is no direct historical connection between Chinese dominoes and mah-jong tiles. Mah-jong tiles were developed in the 19th century as a more durable form of money cards. pagat.com
Pagat does not treat a single domino found with the Mary Rose as proof that the game was played in early-16th-century England. We follow that caution, and do not cite the wreck as a date for the game in Britain.