- Score sheets
- Tile and domino games
- Mexican Train
Mexican Train score sheet
A Mexican Train score sheet has a line for each of 13 rounds, from the double 12 down to the double blank. When a round ends, everyone adds up the pips left in their hand, and whoever went out scores 0. After the last round, the lowest total wins.
- 2 to 8 players
- A double-12 set
- 13 rounds
- Lowest total wins
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This is the real Scorepad, live. Each hand is one round. Round 10 blocked, so nobody went out. Tap any hand to change it.
Mexican Train
A double-12 domino game where everyone builds a train out from a central double, and over 13 rounds the pips left in your hand count against you, so the lowest total wins.
Year from BoardGameGeek.
How to play Mexican Train, in brief
Over 13 rounds, you try to empty your hand onto lines of matching dominoes called trains. Leftover tiles count against you; lowest total wins.
- Deal a double-12 setDeal everyone a hand, smaller with more players; the rest stay face down as the boneyard. Round 1 starts from the double 12 in the middle.
- Play one tileAdd a matching tile to your own train (it runs toward you), the shared Mexican Train, or any train with a marker.
- Or draw and markIf you can’t play, draw one. If it won’t fit, put a marker on your train: it’s open to everyone until you play there.
- Doubles and round endsAfter a double, play one more tile. A double left open must be covered before any other play. A round ends when someone goes out or nobody can play.
Every pip left in your hand counts against you.
A round ends the moment someone plays their last tile, or when the boneyard is empty and nobody can play. Then everyone counts what they are still holding. Points are bad here: the lowest total wins.
What a tile left in your hand costs
| Tile | Points |
|---|---|
| Any tileBoth ends added: a 6-4 is 10, a 12-11 is 23 | Its pips |
| The double blankUnder the usual rules; some tables make it 50, so agree first | 0 |
| The player who went outNo tiles left, no bonus and no minus | 0 |
- Start each round from the next doubleRound 1 starts from the double 12, round 2 from the double 11, and so on down to the double blank in round 13.
- Stop when someone goes outA round ends as soon as one player plays their last tile, or when the boneyard is empty and nobody can play.
- Count your pipsEveryone else adds up every pip on the tiles still in their hand. The player who went out scores 0.
- Lowest after 13 rounds winsAdd each round to the running totals. After the double-blank round, the lowest total wins.
Round 13: Mara goes out, and Jonas holds on.
The last round starts from the double blank, and Jonas leads Mara by 16 going in. Mara plays her last tile, but Jonas is caught with only two small tiles. This is hand 13 on the Scorepad above, with Jonas’s pips typed as a sum.
| Player | Pips left in hand | Round |
|---|---|---|
| You | 12-11 · 6-423 + 10 | 33 |
| Mara | Went outNothing left | 0 |
| Dev | 7-0 · 3-27 + 5 | 12 |
| Jonas | 5-1 · 2-16 + 3 | 9 |
Thirteen rounds, added for you.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. In Mexican Train, type each player’s pips after every round: Tabletales adds up the totals, marks the winner and saves the game with the night.
- Pick Lowest winsEvery new game starts on Highest wins. Switch it to Lowest wins and the trophy sits on the smallest total.
- A row for every roundSwitch to By hand and add a hand per round, 13 in all. The TOTAL line shows each running score.
- Count tiles straight inType each player’s total, or type it tile by tile (23 + 10) and Tabletales adds it up. Whoever went out gets a 0.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo of the table. Each game gets a history: how often you play it, who with, and who holds the best score.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Mexican Train, with its scores
Common Mexican Train scoring mistakes
- Counting tiles instead of pipsEach tile costs its full pip total, so one 12-11 hurts more than three small tiles.
- Rewarding the player who went outUnder the standard count they simply score 0 for the round: no minus and no bonus.
- Starting from the wrong doubleThe starting double drops by one each round, so round 5 starts from the double 8.
- Not agreeing on the double blankSettle it before the first round. Counted as 50 instead of 0, it can swing the game.
Mexican Train scoring, answered
- How do you keep score in Mexican Train?
- After each round, every player adds up the pips on the tiles left in their hand and writes that down, and whoever went out scores 0. After 13 rounds, the lowest total wins.
- How much is the double blank worth in Mexican Train?
- Under the usual rules it counts 0 pips. Some tables make it 50, so agree before you start.
- How many rounds are in Mexican Train?
- 13 with a double-12 set, one for each double from the double 12 down to the double blank. Tables can agree on a shorter game, and a double-9 set makes it 10 rounds.
Mexican Train score sheet
A printable Mexican Train score sheet: six players and 13 rounds, one for each double from 12 down to blank, with a running total beside every round.
Score another game
House rules vary: some tables count the double blank as 50 (one 2015 rule set also suggests 25 for each blank), play fewer rounds, or use a double-9 set for 10 rounds. Pagat also gives a version where whoever goes out collects everyone else’s pips as points. That 2015 rule set breaks a tie by the most 0-point rounds; the Scorepad gives every tied player the win, so settle it from the grid if you like. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against Pagat, Wikipedia and University Games’ double-12 instructions.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
Tabletales adds up every hand, then saves the whole night: the games, the scores, the photos and who was there.
