As a technical writer, I am always asking myself how I can transfer knowledge to my audience as quickly and easily as possible. That constant consideration carries over to my leisure time – I can’t help it. So, of course I had to step in when the instructions for a set of Mexican Train Dominoes needed some help.

As an aside, I did a quick online check to see why this variation of dominoes is called Mexican Train Dominoes. As far as I can tell, it earned its name because it originated in Mexico and involves building trains. That makes the title fair, if unoriginal. If anyone feels differently, please let me know.

Over the Christmas holidays, my sister-in-law cracked out a new set of dominoes. The kids were happily playing in another room, so 7 adults decided to try a game of Mexican Train Dominoes for our first time. What a gong show! The instructions included with the set were confusing and vague. Just when we’d think we had the gist of the game, we’d realize something else didn’t make sense. Some of us ended up googling for more answers, while others just drank more mimosas. We eventually gave up and went back to playing cards per usual.

I didn’t forget about it, though. As a gift to my extended family for 2020, I am presenting the following: an unambiguous, simple set of rules for Mexican Train Dominoes. I compiled it by reviewing multiple variations of instructions, identifying the most common threads, and plotting it out in plain language. I hope this helps other floundering families as well as mine.

Download the PDF here: Mexican Train Dominoes – a simple guide

Enjoy!