Tile Games 🇺🇸United States21st century

Mexican Train Dominoes

POPULAR DOMINO VARIANT for 2-8 PLAYERS using DOUBLE-12 (or DOUBLE-15 or DOUBLE-18) DOMINO SET. Each player builds their own 'TRAIN' of dominoes from central STARTING DOUBLE tile; ADDITIONAL 'MEXICAN TRAIN' (public train usable by all) provides more flexibility. Goal: EMPTY YOUR HAND FIRST + LOWEST POINT-COUNT wins ROUND. Extremely popular USA family + retirement community game; 15-round game standard (starting each round with different DOUBLE tile: 12-12, 11-11, 10-10, etc. → 0-0 in round 13).

⏱~90 min🌤indoor

Photo · Wikipedia

Quick facts

How it works

Objective

Score LOWEST cumulative points across 13-15 ROUNDS by emptying hand first each round.

Rules

Basic rules

SETUP: Each round starts with STARTING DOUBLE (12-12 in round 1, 11-11 in round 2, ..., 0-0 in round 13) placed at CENTRAL HUB
Signature decreasing-double round-start.
DEAL: Each player receives 15 tiles (double-12) or 11-12 (double-15/18); remaining tiles = BONEYARD (draw pile)
Signature 15-tile deal.
TURN: play 1 TILE from hand onto EITHER your own train OR public MEXICAN train — pips must MATCH the last tile
Signature 1-tile match-play.
MEXICAN TRAIN starts after 1st turn; open to all players
Signature Mexican train availability.
DOUBLES rule: playing DOUBLE (like 8-8) requires PLAYER to play ANOTHER TILE on top of it — or NEXT player must play on it; if no one can, DRAW from BONEYARD
Signature doubles-satisfaction rule.
TRAIN MARKER: your train is CLOSED by default. If you can't play on your own, mark it OPEN — other players can now play on it. Play on your own train re-CLOSES it
Signature open/closed train mechanic.
END ROUND: FIRST player to play their LAST TILE ends round; other players SUM PIPS of remaining tiles = penalty score
Signature first-to-empty round-end.
GAME: 13-15 rounds; LOWEST cumulative score wins
Signature 13-15 round game.

Scoring

Round-end: unplayed tile pips summed as penalty; game = lowest cumulative penalty.

Win condition · Lowest cumulative score after 13-15 rounds.

Equipment

DOUBLE-12 DOMINO SET (91 tiles) for 2-4 players; DOUBLE-15 SET (136 tiles) for 4-6; DOUBLE-18 SET (190 tiles) for 6-8
Signature double-12/15/18 domino set.
CENTRAL 'HUB' STATION (plastic center-piece where starting double is placed; also holds 'Mexican Train' marker)
Signature central hub.
TRAIN MARKERS: personal train tokens (plastic train shapes) marking your train's start
Signature train tokens.
MEXICAN TRAIN MARKER (public train indicator)
Signature Mexican train marker.
SCORE PAD + PEN
Standard score-keeping.

Terminology

Boneyard: Draw pile of unused tiles.
Mexican Train: Public train usable by all players.
Train marker: Token showing whose train it is + open/closed status.
Open train: Your train marked open (anyone can play on it).
Closed train: Your train — only you can play on it.
Double: Tile with matching pips both sides (e.g., 8-8) — must be followed with another tile.
Starting double: Round-start tile (12-12 R1, decreasing each round).
Pips: Dots on domino — used to calculate score.

Major competitions

Regional retirement + community tournaments (informal)
casual · USA + Canada · since 1990
World Championship Domino Tournament (Andalusia AL — includes Mexican Train)
annual (July) · Alabama, USA · since 1976

Where it is played

Governing bodies

No formal international body — folk + commercial game
Founded 1990 · USA + Latin America
Puremco Games (commercial standard-setter, USA)
Founded 1936 · Waco, TX, USA

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

No professional scene; casual family + retirement-community game

Sources & provenance

Wikipedia — Mexican Train— Wikipedia
Puremco Mexican Train official rules— Puremco Games

Last verified 2026-08-28.verified