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Mexican Train DominoesPlay online, free

Lay dominoes on your own train, the Mexican Train or an open train. Cover every double, and keep the lowest total of pips.

Play against bots

Join a table of 4. Bots take the empty seats within five seconds.

Opponents
Bots
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With friends

Start a private table and send the invite.

Play with friendsReserve a table

Beginner

A real game, with a coach at your side.

Learn by playing

In your own time

Real people. Each player moves when they have time, and a notification tells you when it is your turn.

Find players

No sign-up. 2 to 8 players; bots fill the empty seats. A game takes about 45 minutes, or 25 in the short game.

How to play

  1. The set. The game uses 91 tiles. There is one tile for each pair of numbers from 0 to 12. A blank end counts 0.
  2. The rounds. A game has 13 rounds. Each round has an engine, which is a double. It is 12-12 in round 1, 11-11 in round 2, and so on down to 0-0 in round 13. The engine lies in the hub, in the middle of the table.
  3. The short game. Choose the short game in the lobby when you have less time. It has 7 rounds, with the engine 6-6 in round 1 and so on down to 0-0 in round 7. The tiles and the deal do not change.
  4. The deal. The other tiles are shuffled face down. With 2, 3 or 4 players, each player takes 15 tiles. With 5 or 6 players, each player takes 12 tiles. The tiles that are left are the boneyard.
  5. Your turn. Play one tile. If you cannot play, draw one tile from the boneyard. If you can play that tile, you must play it now. If you cannot, your turn ends. If the boneyard is empty and you cannot play, you pass.
  6. Where a tile goes. Each train has an open number. A new train starts with the number of the engine. Put a tile at the open end of a train so that one end of the tile shows the open number. The other end is then the new open number.
  7. Which trains you may use. You may always play on your own train. After your first turn of the round, you may also play on the Mexican Train. You may play on the train of another player only while it has a marker.
  8. The opening lap. In your first turn of a round, you may play only on your own train.
  9. The marker. When you draw and still cannot play, or when you pass, you place a marker on your train. Every player may then play on it. You take the marker off only when you play a tile on your own train.
  10. Doubles. A double lies across its train. After you play a double, you must play one more tile on it at once. Your turn then ends.
  11. An open double. If you cannot cover your own double, you draw one tile. If that tile does not cover it, you place your marker and the double stays open. Each player in turn must cover an open double before any other play, on any train. A player who cannot cover it draws one tile, and places a marker if that tile does not fit.
  12. Going out. The round ends when a player plays the last tile. The round also ends when the boneyard is empty and nobody can play.
  13. Scoring. Each player adds the pips on the tiles left in the hand to the total. A player who went out adds 0. After the last round, the lowest total wins. Players with the same total share the place.

Tiles in each hand

PlayersTiles
2 to 4 players15
5 or 6 players12

The engine of round 1 is 12-12. It goes down by one in each round, to 0-0 in round 13. In the short game, it starts at 6-6 and ends at 0-0 in round 7.

At the online table

  • Tap a tile in your rack to lift it, then tap a lane. Only the lanes where the tile fits show a mark.
  • Tap the boneyard to draw. Tap Pass when you cannot play and the boneyard is empty.
  • On a keyboard: Tab to your rack, the arrow keys move along it, Enter lifts a tile, 1 to 9 play it on a lane, Space plays it when only one lane fits, R draws, S passes, F opens the list of trains, M turns the sound off.
  • Each turn has a 20-second timer. If time runs out, the table plays for you.
  • An empty seat is taken by a bot, always marked as a bot.

Questions

Why can I not play on the train of another player?
A train is open only while it has a marker. Its owner places the marker after a draw that does not help, or a pass.
Why must I play this tile?
A double is open. You must cover it before you play anything else. If you drew a tile that fits, you must play it.
Why is there a marker on my train?
You drew a tile and could not play it, or you passed. Play a tile on your own train to take the marker off.
What does a blank count?
A blank counts 0. The 0-0 tile is worth 0 pips.
How long is a game?
A standard game has 13 rounds and takes about 45 minutes. A short game has 7 rounds and takes about 25 minutes.

Why it is fair

A secret seed shuffles every round. You see its fingerprint when the game starts. You see the seed when it ends, so you can deal every round again and check it. Verify a game.

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