Lotería is a traditional Mexican game that came over from Spain around 1769. Originally, it was a game enjoyed by the wealthy, but eventually was played by everyone. The Lotería Game is still popular at fairs and celebrations throughout Mexico. The most common version of the game was first published in 1887 by Don Clemente Jacques. This edition is still popular today.
Lotería Game Equipment
- Lotería Game
- 3 or more players
- tokensto cover squares (can be game tokens or other small objects like buttons, bits of paper, beans, etc.)
How to play the Lotería Game
The Lotería game is similar to Bingo with several striking differences. Lotería has a deck of 54 cards. On the front of the card is a picture of an object and its name is Spanish. On the back of the card is a riddle. Each person gets a tabla (playing board) that has a 4 x 4 grid with random pictures of the cards on the board. The cards are mixed and randomly called out. If a player has the image on his playing board, he may cover it with a marker. (Can be small pieces of paper, buttons, coins, tokens, etc.) The first person who fills a row vertically, horizontally or diagonally, calls out, and wins the game.
There are variations on how to play the game. In the first version, the caller simply holds up the card and says the name of the object. In another version, the caller reads the clues on the back of the card and players must cover an object based on the clues.
How to Use the Lotería Game
The Lotería Game can be used to help children learn some basic Spanish nouns. If your family speaks Spanish or knows someone that does, you will be able to use the riddles on the cards. If you type in the words mexican loteria cards translations on an internet search, you will find many sites that do have translations for the cards. Also, on the back of each of the 20 game boards, there is a short story or poem. CAUTION: If you try to use an online translator yourself, you will find that many of the cards will be inaccurately translated. Like any language, Spanish uses colloquialisms and puns. Without being aware of the cultural references, literal translations may be wrong or inappropriate.
In Wee Folk Art’s Cultural Connections :: Unit 6, the book El juego de la Lotería by Rene Colato Lainez is used when studying Mexico. It is about a young boy that goes to visit his grandmother in Mexico. The young boy speaks little Spanish and his grandmother does not speak English. Through the use of the Lotería Game, both begin learning a new language. After reading the book, children will have a better understanding of the game.
If you wish to buy this game, be careful. We bought our loteria game for $5.89 on Amazon. We’ve seen the same game, with the same cards, for as much as $25.00!
CAUTION: Before playing the game with your children, you will want to go through the cards. These were first published 1887. Some people may find a couple of the cards inappropriate to use today. If you would like, remove those cards from the game along with the game boards with those pictures. Not to worry. There are many cards and boards so the removal of a few of them will not be missed.
