Loteria

Players: 2+

Difficulty: Beginner

Duration: 30 minutes

Description: Lotería (Spanish word meaning "lottery") is a traditional game of chance, similar to bingo, but using images on a deck of cards instead of numbered ping pong balls. The traditional Lotería card deck is composed of a set of 54 different cards, each with a different picture. To start the game, the caller (cantor, Spanish for "singer") shuffles the deck. One by one, the caller picks a card from the deck and announces it to the players by its name, sometimes using a verse before reading the card name. Each player locates the matching pictogram of the card just announced on their board and marks it off with a chip or other kind of marker. The winner is the first player that shouts "¡Buena!" or "¡Lotería!" right after completing a tabla or a previous agreed pattern: row, column, diagonal, or a pozo.

Learn to Play: Click here for a video walkthrough

Academic Ties To: International Studies, Game History, Visual Arts

More Info: This game on Wikipedia

Fun Fact: In Mexico, it is traditional to use small rocks, crown corks or pinto beans as markers.