Mexican Train vs. Chicken Foot: Two Domino Games Compared

Mexican Train and Chicken Foot are often shelved next to each other because they share so much on the surface — both are usually played with an oversized double-twelve set, both start from a central double, and both let a layout branch out into multiple lines instead of one long chain. Sit down to actually play either one, though, and the rules pull apart fast. Here's what's the same, what's different, and which one to reach for depending on the group.

What they have in common

• Set size. Both are traditionally played with a double-twelve set (91 tiles), which comfortably supports larger groups — up to eight players in many house rules — without running out of tiles.
• A starting double. Both games begin with a chosen double placed in the center of the table as the anchor everything else builds from.
• Branching layouts. Unlike a single-line game like standard block dominoes, both games let the layout spread outward from the center in several directions at once, one train or "foot" per branch.
• Drawing when stuck. Both use a boneyard that players draw from when they have no legal play, rather than simply passing outright.

Where Mexican Train diverges

Mexican Train's defining feature is personal ownership: each player builds their own numbered "train" radiating out from the central double, and for most of the game a player may only extend their own train (unless it's been left "open," typically marked with a small marker, which lets anyone play on it). There's also a shared "Mexican train" in the middle that any player may add to at any time, regardless of whose turn it is to move on their personal train.

A player who can't extend their own train and has no play for the Mexican train must draw from the boneyard. If the drawn tile still can't be played, their train is marked open, meaning other players may now play on it too until its owner closes it again with a matching tile.

This ownership structure changes the strategic feel considerably: you're managing your own branch, watching for chances to close it back off once opened, and deciding when it's worth adding to the shared train versus holding a tile back for your own line.

Where Chicken Foot diverges

Chicken Foot skips personal trains entirely. Instead, whenever a double is played onto the layout, the very next requirement is strict: every other branch off that double must be filled before normal play can resume anywhere else on the layout — a rule usually described as the double "needing to be satisfied." Since a double typically has multiple open sides (commonly three, forming the game's namesake "chicken foot" shape), this can freeze most of the table's attention on one spot until all of its branches are filled.

There's no shared communal train and no personal ownership of any branch — any player may play on any open end at any time, subject only to the double-satisfying rule above. That makes Chicken Foot feel more reactive and less territorial than Mexican Train; you're watching the whole board rather than managing your own lane.

Side by side

• Ownership: Mexican Train gives each player a personal train; Chicken Foot has no ownership at all.
• Doubles: Mexican Train treats a double like any other branch point; Chicken Foot forces every branch off a double to be filled before play moves on elsewhere.
• Shared structure: Mexican Train has one shared communal train alongside the personal ones; Chicken Foot has none, since nothing is personally owned to begin with.
• Pace: Mexican Train tends to spread out gradually across several visible trains; Chicken Foot tends to cluster activity around whichever double is currently unsatisfied.

Scoring in both games

Both games typically use the same pip-counting principle as standard dominoes: the round's winner (first to empty their hand, or lowest pip count if the game blocks) scores the pips left in every other player's hand. Because a double-twelve set runs much heavier per tile than a double-six set, rounds tend to produce bigger point swings — worth keeping in mind if you're setting a target score for the night. The Domino Scorekeeper handles either set size without extra setup.

Which one to pick

For a group that likes tracking their own progress and enjoys a bit of territory to manage, Mexican Train's personal trains tend to land well. For a group that prefers everyone reacting to the same shared board without anyone "owning" a piece of it, Chicken Foot's whole-table focus around each double is the better fit. Both are approachable for mixed-age family groups and neither requires more than the rules above to get a first round going.