Frequently Asked Questions
Looking for instructions? Check out How To Play.
Each game can have two (2) to eight (8) human players, plus the Mexican Train. I don't allow more than that because all the trains won't fit on a screen. A lot of people play on their phones or tablets.
Yes, everyone needs an account. You cannot play without first registering or signing in.
You can sign in with a social media account or an email address. The email address can even be fake. We just need something to tie your accounts to. 🙂
MexicanTrain.Online is meant to accompany existing chat and video programs. I recommend Zoom, Skype or Facebook video. Start a call in one of those apps, then come over to mexicantrain.online and start a game.
Everyone needs a screen. The game works great on computers and horizontal tablets. It's usable on vertical tablets and phones, but it's a bit tough to play.
Yes, you can go out on a double. This is one of the most common and most contested variations. 🙂 As I've seen conflicting versions of the rules, I had to pick one.
No, double zeros are scored as zero.
I thought it would be more fun if each game had a unique name to refer to. Since I'm trying to put a little joy in the world, why not a positive adjective combined with a cuddly animal?
There's a secret option for that!
Click on the "menu" button and then click on "Game scores & options".
Expand the "advanced options" and then click on "remove a player from the game".
Select the player you want to remove from the dropdown and click "remove them".
Beware! Removing a player from the game will mess up your scores.
Reordering tiles only works on larger screens. For example, you can reorder your tiles on an iPad horizontally, but not vertically. And definitely not on phones. Sorry, this is a limitation of the tech.
I promise you, there is no bias or logic behind the distribution of tiles.
The problem with true "computer" random versus “human” random is that true random may include the same random result over and over again. I.e. Roll a 6-sided die a million times, and there will be patterns occasionally.
The game uses true, computer-based randomization, so it may appear as though there are patterns.
