Victor Hugo Padilla Jimenez

What Are the Rules for Mexican Train Dominoes?

Fast, friendly rules that turn a stack of dots into big laughs.

You sit down. You hear tiles click. Game on! Mexican Train is easy to learn and fast to play. In minutes, everyone can join the fun—kids, abuelos, all of us.

Quick answer

Here are the basic rules: Match numbers, build “trains” from the center double, play one tile on your turn, draw one if you can’t play, cover doubles right away, and you may play on the shared “Mexican Train.” First to play all tiles wins the round. Lowest total dots wins the game.

What you need

A domino set (most people use Double-12; Double-9 works too).
A center hub or space on the table.
Train markers (coins, paper clips, or the plastic trains from the set).
A notepad to keep score.

Setup in 60 seconds

Shuffle all tiles face down.
Each player draws a hand from the pile (use the guide in your set; it changes with player count).
Place the highest double for the round in the center. That tile is the “engine.”
Everyone points their track space toward the engine. That is your “personal train.”

Your turn, step by step

Play one tile that matches the open end of one train.
You can play on: your train, the Mexican Train (the shared one), or any open player train.
If you cannot play, draw one tile. If it fits, play it now. If not, mark your train open and pass.

Starting the Mexican Train

On your turn, if you have a tile that matches the engine, you may start the shared “Mexican Train.”
Once started, anyone may play on it.

Open vs. closed trains

Closed train: Only you can play on it.
Open train: You could not play on your last turn, so you marked it. Now others may play there until you play and “close” it.

Doubles must be covered

If you play a double, you must immediately play one more tile to “cover” it (on the same turn).
Can’t cover it? Draw once. Still can’t? Mark your train open and pass.
Next players must try to cover that double before playing anywhere else.

Ending a round

A round ends when a player plays all tiles, or no one can play and the draw pile is empty.

Scoring made simple

Add the dots left in your hand. Doubles count as their total dots.
Write the score. Lowest total after all rounds wins the game.

Rounds and the engine

Most tables play many rounds. Start with the highest double in the set (like Double-12) and go down each round (11, 10, 9, …, 0).

Popular house rules (pick your spice)

Start-on-stuck: You may start the Mexican Train only if you can’t play on your own train.
Draw-to-play: Keep drawing until you can play (or set a max draws per turn).
Bonus-for-going-out: Last tile is a double? You must still cover it to go out.