Introduction
Mexican Train is a domino game, played mainly in the USA. It is probably best for four or more players.
Equipment and Preparation
A double twelve set of dominoes is used. This contains all possible pairs of numbers from 0 (blank) to 12, giving 91 pieces in all. In addition, some markers are required. Traditionally, coins were used: one train marker for each player.
The dominoes are shuffled, and each player takes a number of dominoes and stands them on edge so that their faces are visible to the owner but not to the other players. Up to 4 players take 15 dominoes each, 5 or 6 take 11 each, 7 or 8 take 10 each, and 9 or 10 players take 8 each. The remaining dominoes are left face down in the boneyard.
The Play
First turn
The player who has the 12-12 begins the first game by placing it in the center of the table. The second game will be started by the 11-11 and so on downwards to the double blank for the 13th game. If no one has the double required to start, players draw equally from the boneyard until it is found.
Note: Since the process for finding the required double can be tedious, you may prefer to place the required double face up on the table before shuffling. In this case players take turns to start.
Beginning with the player who placed the starting double, and continuing in clockwise order around the table, each player now starts to build a train, which is a single row of dominoes starting from the double in the center and extending towards the player. The ends of adjacent dominoes must match in number and the center facing end of the first domino played must match the center domino (in the first game, therefore, a 12 is needed). A single train might look like this:
When the first player takes their second turn, they will have to satisfy the first exposed double, as explained under doubles.
If any player is unable to start their train – having no domino that matches the center double – they draw from the boneyard and if they pick up a tile that they can play, they do. If they cannot play then they place a marker (train marker) in the position where their train would have started. This indicates that, starting with the first player’s second turn, any player will be allowed to play a domino in this position, to start the train. Note, however, that no player is allowed to play on another player’s train, nor to start the “Mexican train”, during their first turn.
Subsequent turns
After everyone has had one turn, in which they started their train if possible, the rules of play change. Now, each player plays just one domino per turn (unless that domino is a double. This domino may normally be played either
- on the player’s own train, or
- on another player’s train, if that train is marked with a train marker, to show that its owner was unable to play on it at their last move, or
- on an extra train, known as the Mexican Trainor Caboose, which is always open to all players.
Of course, each domino must be played in such a way that its inward end matches the open end of the domino it touches.
The Mexican Train or Caboose can be started by any player from the second turn onwards, beginning with a single domino which matches the starting double at one end. The nickel is placed on it, to distinguish it from the other trains and show that it is open to all players. The whole layout, with four players’ trains and a Mexican train, might look something like this:
If you find at your turn that none of the ends of your dominoes matches the free ends of the layout on which you are allowed to play, you must draw one domino from the boneyard, and you may play the domino you drew. If you are still unable to play, you must pass and place a marker (train marker) on your train, which indicates that any player is now allowed to add a domino to it, as an alternative to playing on their own train or the Mexican train. If you are unable to play and the boneyard is empty, you simply pass and place a marker on your train. (If there is already a marker on your train you just leave it there.)
You must play a tile at your turn if you are able to. You are not allowed to draw from the boneyard if you had a tile that you could legally play. If you cannot play, but draw a tile that is playable, you must play it.
A player whose train has a marker on it can play either on their own train or on any other train that has a marker. If the owner of a marked train plays on their own train, the marker is removed and other players can no longer add to that train. If the owner of a train with a marker adds a tile to another player’s marked train, all markers remain in place.
Note that if you were unable to start your train in your first turn, but in a later turn you draw a domino that enables you to start your train (no one else having started it for you), you only play this one domino in that turn (and remove the marker from your train).
Doubles
From your second turn onwards, whenever you play a double you must play an extra domino, which must be used to close the double you just played. If you cannot play a second tile you must draw (if available) and if the drawn tile is not playable you pass and put a train marker on your train. The only exception to this is that if your very last domino is a double you may go out with it: in that case the game ends immediately and is scored.
If a double is played, and the player leaves a train ending in a double, then after the end of that player’s turn the next domino added to the layout must be played on a double. This is called “satisfying” the double.
The duty of satisfying the double falls first on the next player after the person who played the double. If they can satisfy the double they must do so – even though it may be in a private train where they could not normally have played. If they cannot satisfy the double from hand, they draw a tile and if that does not match the double either, they pass and place a train marker on their own train; the duty of satisfying the double then passes to the following player in turn. If a player leaves several doubles unsatisfied at the end of a turn, each of the exposed doubles must be satisfied by subsequent players in the order that they were played.
The Scoring
The play ends as soon as one player runs out of dominoes, or when the layout becomes blocked so that no one can play.
Each player scores as penalty points the spots on the dominoes they have left (so a player who ran out of dominoes will score no penalty points for that game).
As already explained, a complete session would consist of 13 games, the first started with the 12-12, then the 11-11, 10-10 and so on down to the 0-0. The object is to accumulate as few points as possible over the 13 games – the player with the lowest total score is the winner.