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Play Mexican Train Dominoes online with official rules—for free!

Play this fun, free online Mexican Train Dominoes game against three computer players and invite your friends to enjoy it too. If you’ve never played before, these are the basic rules:

The objective of Mexican Train Dominoes is to play all your tiles. The lowest score wins at the end of all rounds.
Your score is the total number of pips (dots) on each tile left at the end of each round.
Your row of dominoes is your"personal train". You want to keep that closed to competitors as long as possible.
The row of dominoes across the top is the public "Mexican Train" and is an open train available to everyone, all the time.

The general rules of Mexican Train Dominoes include:

Each round starts with a double, which is a domino that is the same on both sides, like 12|12. Double blank dominoes serve as 0|0.
The "boneyard" is where remaining tiles lay for each player to draw from. You can draw one domino from the boneyard on each turn if you have no other tiles to play.

Online game play tip: Some opening moves are better than others. Read more on: best opening Mexican Train Domino moves.

Each player gets a personal "train" of dominoes. There’s an additional "Mexican Train" that is public and you can play a tile on it on any turn.
You must connect one end of a domino with another of the same number on a train, such as 3|4 - 4|9 - 9|1.
If you can’t make a play on your train, the Mexican Train, or after drawing a domino from the boneyard your train is marked as "open", and other players can play on your train. This can be helpful or it can be harmful depending on your opponent’s strategy and the luck of the draw. You can close your train by playing a tile on your train again.
If a player plays a double domino, they must “cover the double”. This means you get to play an extra tile, which helps you run out of dominoes faster—just make sure you have an available tile to play.

Online game play tip: Doubles have advantages. Read more on: the best time to play a double

If a player plays a double and can’t cover it, their train is marked as open and the next player must close the double. This rule repeats until the double is covered.

For more, check out our complete beginner’s guide to Mexican Train Dominoes.

Helpful hints and strategies for Mexican Train Dominoes

Play on your personal train for as long as possible. It’ll hinder your opponents and sustain any strategies you might have for longer.
You can rotate the tiles by double-clicking or tapping them and you can reorder your unplayed tiles in the space at the bottom of the playing area. This is a helpful way to lay out a strategy to match tiles and doubles on your train while you wait for other players to play.
You can download Mexican Train Dominoes for iOS, Google Play for Android, and Kindle devices via the App Stores.

FAQs about how to play Mexican Train Dominoes online and in-app

When does a round end? The round ends when all playable tiles are played and each player is blocked, or a player lays all of their tiles, whichever comes first.

Are there multiple rounds? Yes. Traditionally, three rounds are played to determine the best of three.

How does the first round start? The first round starts clockwise from the player who put down the highest double starts and players then take turns in a clockwise direction. For instance, a 6|6 is the highest tile compared to a 4|4, which would be a lower double.

The player starts their personal train by putting their first domino to match the "engine". Your goal is to extend the train by adding more dominoes from your hand until you either have to draw or can't play.

Can we play analog, too? Yes, and we have downloadable sheets you can use to print your own dominoes at home. There are also printable score sheets and rules you print and can use for free. To play on your iPhone or iPad, visit the App Store. For Android tablets, visit the Play Store. A Kindle Store version is also available.

Learn more about Mexican Train with these free guides, strategies, and how-tos

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