Dominoes Variants Mexican Train, Chickenfoot & More
The name likely comes from the game’s popular tradition where the public train is open to everyone, similar to how a public railway serves all passengers. When someone plays a double tile, it creates three new branches that must be filled before the game can continue. You manage your own train, and there is also a shared public train called the Mexican Train that anyone can use. Mexican Train is classified as a “train” game because each player builds their own line of tiles (a train) extending from a station hub. I hear this question all the time from people setting up their first game night.
Players must balance the need to get rid of their dominoes quickly with the strategic advantage of controlling multiple trains. This mechanism adds a layer of complexity and strategy to the game, as players must manage their dominoes carefully and make tactical decisions about when to start new trains. Both games are played with a standard set of dominoes, and the objective is to lay down all your dominoes before your opponents.
You like the idea of managing your own train while keeping an eye on what opponents are doing. Finding that balance between timing and opportunity is the heart of Chicken Foot strategy. Holding doubles too long is risky in Chicken Foot because you might get stuck with them at the end of a round. Experienced players also watch what their opponents draw and play to deduce what tiles are still available. Some Chicken Foot players also use “farm yard,” though chicken yard is more common.
The Chicken Yard
Chicken Foot shares the same basic turn structure but plays out on the table in a very different way. After all thirteen rounds have been played (from double-twelve down to double-blank), the player with the lowest total score wins. A round ends when one player plays the last tile from their hand, or when the boneyard is empty and no player can make a legal play. If it cannot be played, you pass your turn and your private train becomes open for other players to use. If you cannot play a tile on any available train, you must draw one tile from the boneyard. Once the station is open, each player starts their own personal train extending from the hub.
- You manage your own train, and there is also a shared public train called the Mexican Train that anyone can use.
- This speeds up the game, but eliminates some of the strategies resulting from the requirement to cover doubles.
- Some Chicken Foot sets include a starter tile, but many players simply use one of the doubles from the set to begin the round.
- This makes doubles a strategic asset rather than a liability, since playing one effectively gives you two turns in a row.
- With their first move, the first player may choose to start either their “personal train” or the “Mexican Train”, using one of the “extras” that has an end matching the “engine” in the station hub.
Chicken Foot calls the same concept the “chicken yard,” keeping with the poultry theme of the game. Across all rounds, the player with the lowest total score at the end wins. In both Mexican Train and Chicken Foot, scoring works the same way at the end of each round.
Block Dominoes
In either case, doubles in Mexican Train are about managing your own trains and timing your plays to avoid penalties. The way doubles are handled is the single biggest gameplay difference between Mexican Train and Chicken Foot, and it completely changes how each game feels. I have played both extensively and this table captures the differences that actually matter at the table. The game typically runs for ten rounds if using a chicken train double-nine set, starting with the double-nine and working down to the double-blank. Unlike Mexican Train, there is no penalty of an “open train” because there are no private trains in Chicken Foot. If you cannot play a tile on your turn, you draw from the chicken yard.
Conclusion: Are Mexican Train and Chicken Foot the Same?
This is your ‘boneyard’, and you must draw seven starting dominoes to begin play. Block dominoes is one of the most basic games you can play with double six dominoes, and it can be played with two to four people. For new and returning players, we’ve created this no-nonsense beginner’s guide to dominoes, including the key rules you need to play some of the most popular dominoes games.
DOMINO SET REQUIRED: Double Nine
The leftover tiles form what Chicken Foot players call the chicken yard instead of the boneyard. That single distinction changes how doubles work, how strategy unfolds, and even what you call the pile of leftover tiles. The game generally ends when all the doubles in the domino set are used as the starting double for a round. But if, at any time, you can’t play a domino and you can’t draw a playable one from the boneyard, you must put your marker back on your train, making it public again. Just like in Chicken Foot dominoes, you start by placing the highest double domino on the table.
The playing of doubles and covering requirements are subject to significant variance depending on individual custom and the rules in use, so the basic rules presented here are based on a consensus reading of the different rule sets, biased toward the earliest rules, published in 1994 by Galt and Parsons and updated in 2012 by Bauguess. For example, if the double-9 domino is the engine and the 9-6 domino is played to start the Mexican Train, the next domino to extend the Mexican Train must have one end with a 6. It is metaphorically on a siding, physically represented by disconnecting it from the station hub, in a place convenient to all players.
How to play Chicken Foot dominoes
If they are unable to match, they draw from the chicken yard. This is called the chicken yard, and it is used as a draw pile during the game. Mix them up and begin going around the table taking turns to draw one domino at a time.
Other Notable Variants
In a two player game, the last two dominoes are left in the chicken yard. Begin by placing the entire set of double nine dominoes face down in the center of the table. Uses curved tiles that create a winding layout on the table. When this variation is used, for example, a player could play a double on a public train, then “cover” it by playing another domino on their private train; the following player(s) are then responsible to play against the double on the public train.
While playing on each public train, the player may choose to play on the Mexican train or skip it when he comes to it, making the placement of the train somewhat strategical. After the starting double has been placed, during the opening phase, each player simultaneously starts and extends their private train, using as many dominoes in their hand as possible. Any player may start the Mexican Train by playing one domino with an end matching the engine (i.e., the double in the station hub placed at the beginning of the round); subsequent players may add to the train, as long as the domino played matches the free end of the Mexican Train. For example, if Player B places a domino on a public train with Player A’s marker, that does not force that train to become private for Player B; when Player A’s turn comes, after Player A makes a valid play on that public train, only then will it become private.
If a player is deemed to have made a strategic error the highest score of that round is added to theirs. During their turn, a player may choose to play a domino on any train currently marked public, regardless of whether it is possible to play on their own private train.BR 2 It is acceptable to “bend” the train 90° or 180° to keep the train on the playing surface, as long as it does not interfere with the endpoints of other trains. As a result, trains can become quite long, especially with an extended domino set. A player may not pass their turn,BR 3 as the boneyard-draw ruleBR 4 or double covering ruleBR 5 may require that player to designate their train as public. Each player takes a turn, mirroring the first player’s first move by playing one tile starting from the station hub in a direction that leads toward their seat.
How Mexican Train Dominoes Gameplay Works
Optionally, if a player notices another player who has not announced they are holding only one domino, the latter may be forced to draw two tiles from the boneyard, if it is not empty. One variation suggests that as a courtesy, a player holding only one domino should tap the table to indicate the potential end of the round in the next turn, giving the other players a chance to lower their score by playing their highest-valued domino. The round ends once one player has placed all their dominoes, or when it is not possible to play another domino and the boneyard is empty.
One factor that has sustained the popularity of the games is that they are easily played and enjoyed by men, women, boys, and girls…people of all ages. The goal is to domino, since scores are based on the tiles left in the other player’s hands. Its many forms are played around the world by millions of people. Once you know that there are no longer three free bones to complete the chickie, you control when the round ends by playing the chickie.
Scoring is one area where the two games are nearly identical, with one notable exception. Knowing when to play a double in Chicken Foot is one of the most important strategic decisions you will make. In Mexican Train, you might play doubles aggressively to get extra turns and push your advantage. When a double hits the table, every player is affected because everyone has to participate in filling the toes. Each of these three branches is a “chicken toe,” and every player at the table must contribute toes in clockwise order until all three are placed.
Objective
This makes doubles a strategic asset rather than a liability, since playing one effectively gives you two turns in a row. Just like Mexican Train has a boneyard, Chicken Foot has a draw pile called the chicken yard. This creates a fun dynamic where you sometimes help yourself and sometimes block opponents. If no one has the engine in their hand, each player draws one tile from the boneyard in turn until someone pulls it. You get a plastic station hub that sits in the center of the table and serves as the starting point for all the trains. This smaller set works well for the branching tree mechanic because it creates a more manageable layout that does not sprawl out of control on your table.
Basic rules
The player holding the engine tile goes first and must play it to open the station. The engine tile is placed in the center hub at the start of the round. At the start of each round, one specific double tile serves as the “engine.” In the first round of a game, the double-twelve is the engine. Some Chicken Foot sets include a starter tile, but many players simply use one of the doubles from the set to begin the round. You also get small train markers (often colored plastic pieces or coins) that players use to mark their train as open or closed.
- I have played both extensively and this table captures the differences that actually matter at the table.
- This starting layout requires players to think strategically about how to build upon the existing tiles and create connections between them.
- Just like Mexican Train has a boneyard, Chicken Foot has a draw pile called the chicken yard.
- This smaller set works well for the branching tree mechanic because it creates a more manageable layout that does not sprawl out of control on your table.
- Knowing when to play a double in Chicken Foot is one of the most important strategic decisions you will make.
Only the player whose marker is on a public train can turn the train private by making a valid play on that train and lifting the marker. The marker on a public train can only be removed by the marker’s owner to make it private, and there is one marker per player. To designate when a train is private, the marker may either be removed altogether or moved to the station hub, depending on the rules. With their first move, the first player may choose to start either their “personal train” or the “Mexican Train”, using one of the “extras” that has an end matching the “engine” in the station hub.
One strategy is to try to keep high value exposed ends covered which prevents other players from chickie-ing them. The game ends when one player plays his last bone or when all players have consecutively passed or the chicken yard is empty. The number of bones pulled by each player depends on the number of players. Dominoes are also often referred to as bones and tiles.
Train Variants
This rule can slow the game down dramatically, especially when multiple doubles are played in quick succession. Unlike Mexican Train, where every player immediately starts their own separate train, Chicken Foot has everyone building off the same central layout. The highest double in the set (double-nine for a standard set) is placed in the center of the table.
Despite their shared appeal, there are notable differences in their origins, gameplay, and the overall experience they offer to players. It is about which game fits your group, your mood, and your table. And both can be played with the same domino set, making them a perfect pair for game night. Chicken Foot works well with 2 to 8 players, though most people find the sweet spot is 3 to 6 players. Despite concerns some people have about the name, there is nothing derogatory about it.
Chicken Foot, on the other hand, is often more appealing to experienced players who enjoy strategic challenges and complex puzzles. Chicken Foot’s unique starting layout and special rules are designed to create a distinct gameplay dynamic, which may not be compatible with the traditional Mexican Train rules. While both games are enjoyable and challenging in their own right, Chicken Foot tends to appeal to more experienced players who enjoy strategic puzzle-solving. Another significant difference between the two games is the level of complexity and strategy involved. Additionally, Chicken Foot often involves special rules, such as “wild” dominoes or unique scoring systems, which are not found in traditional Mexican Train.