Mexican Train Rules

Mexican Train is a simple game with a handful of rules that people argue about. This is the index — each rule gets its own page, with worked examples rather than a summary. If you want the whole game start to finish instead, read how to play Mexican Train.

The rules, one at a time

• How scoring works — counting pips, running totals, and who actually wins.
• The double blank rule — why it is worth 0, 25 or 50 depending on who you ask.
• Doubles, covering and Blake’s rule — the rule that causes the most confusion at the table.
• Setting up a round — how many dominoes each player gets, and what the engine is.
• What the Mexican Train actually is — the shared train, as distinct from your own.
• House rules and variations — the common ones, and which are settings in the online game.
• Glossary — boneyard, engine, satisfying a double, going out, washing.
• How to win — when to play doubles, when to open your train on purpose.

A note on rule disagreements

Mexican Train has no single governing rulebook. It spread through families and clubs, and each one kept its own version. That is why two people can both be completely certain the double blank is worth 50, or nothing at all, and both be right about how their family plays.

Where a rule genuinely varies, these pages say so and give the common versions rather than pretending there is one correct answer. In the online game most of them are settings, chosen by whoever creates the game.