The Mexican Train Double Rule, Explained
Quick answer
The Mexican Train double rule: when you play a double, you play one more tile. If the double is still uncovered at the end of your turn, the next player must cover it with a matching tile before anyone plays anywhere else, even on a train that is normally closed to them.
Can’t cover it? Draw one tile. If that doesn’t fit, pass and put a marker on your train; the next player must try.
A double means you play again, and it must be covered
- Play again. After you play a double, you play one more tile, anywhere you are allowed to play. It may cover the double, or go somewhere else.
- Cover it first. If the double is still uncovered when your turn ends, the next player must cover it before playing anywhere else.
- On any train. The double must be covered where it sits, even on another player’s personal train that has no marker.
- Draw, then pass. A player who can’t cover it draws one tile. If that tile doesn’t cover it, they pass and put out their marker. The duty moves on to the next player.
Watch it happen, one move at a time
Here is a real position run through our Mexican Train game engine. You hold the 5-5 and your train ends in 5. Press Next step to see each move and who may play where.
Watch a double get covered, step by step
Three players, engine 12-12.
- Your train
- Ann’s trainMarker: open to all
- Bob’s train
- Mexican Train
- You: 11-4 (to play)
- Ann: 9-8, 6-3, double 10, 10-2
- Bob: 4-0, 11-9
Bob covers the double with the 5-2, on your train, a train Bob could not normally use. The double is satisfied. Back to normal: you may play on your train, Ann’s train or the Mexican Train.
- Your turn. You may play on your train (open end 5) or the Mexican Train (open end 7). You hold the double 5.
- You play the double 5 on your train. It is a double, so you must play one more tile.
- You play the 7-1 on the Mexican Train. The double 5 is still uncovered, so Ann may play only on your train, to cover it.
- Ann has no tile that covers it, so draws one: the 10-2. It does not fit, so Ann passes. Ann puts a marker on their own train: now anyone may play there. The double 5 is still uncovered, so Bob may play only on your train, to cover it.
- Bob covers the double with the 5-2, on your train, a train Bob could not normally use. The double is satisfied. Back to normal: you may play on your train, Ann’s train or the Mexican Train.
If you can’t cover a double, you draw and may open your train
This is the expensive part of the rule. If no tile in your hand covers the double, you can’t play anywhere else, not even on your own train. You draw one tile. If it fits, play it on the double. If it doesn’t, you pass and your train gets a marker, so now anyone may play on it.
That is why the person who plays a double wants to cover it themselves. If you hold another tile of the same number, play the double and then cover it on the same turn. Our strategy page has more on when a double is worth playing.
Two uncovered doubles are covered in order
After a double you play again, and that tile may be another double. Play one more tile after that too. If two doubles end up uncovered, they are covered in the order they were played: first the older one, then the newer one.
You may end the round on a double
If a double is your last tile, play it and the round ends at once. You don’t need to cover it, and nobody else has to either. Everyone else counts the spots left in hand.
Try the rule yourself
This short lesson deals you a real position with a double. Play it and see what the game asks of the next player.
Try it: the double rule
Step 1 of 4
Your train ends in 9 and you hold the double 9. Play it on your train.
Your tiles (4)
Families change this rule more than any other
Agree on these before the first round:
- No covering. Some tables don’t require doubles to be covered at all.
- Only one double per turn. Some don’t allow a second double right after the first.
- The first turn. In pagat.com’s classic opening, a double at the end of a first-turn train doesn’t need covering until everyone has had their first turn.
- Last of its number. Wikipedia and mexicantrain.com note that some players don’t require a double to be covered when every other tile of that number is already on the table.
Our online game uses the standard rule above, so you can practice the version most rule sheets print.
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Questions people ask
What is the double rule in Mexican Train?
When you play a double, you play one more tile. If the double is still uncovered when your turn ends, the next player must cover it with a matching tile before anyone plays anywhere else. If they can’t, they draw one tile; if that does not fit, they pass and put a marker on their own train, and the next player must try.
Do you have to cover your own double in Mexican Train?
You must play one more tile after a double, but it does not have to go on the double. If it does not, the double stays open and the next player has to cover it.
Can you cover a double on someone else’s train?
Yes. An uncovered double must be covered wherever it is, even on a personal train that is normally closed to you. That is the one time you may play on a closed train.
Can you go out on a double in Mexican Train?
Yes. If a double is your last tile you may play it, and the round ends at once. Nobody has to cover it.
What happens if two doubles are left uncovered?
They are covered in the order they were played. The first double must be covered first, then the second.
What if nobody can cover a double?
Each player in turn draws one tile, and if it does not fit, passes and puts out their marker. Once the boneyard is empty, players simply pass. If nobody can play at all, the round ends as blocked and everyone counts the spots in hand.