Lotería

''Lotería'' (Spanish word meaning "lottery") is a traditional Mexican board game of chance, similar to bingo, but played with a deck of cards instead of numbered balls. Each card has an image of an everyday object, its name, and a number, although the number is usually ignored. Each player has at least one ', a board with a randomly created 4 × 4 grid selected from the card images. Players choose a ''tabla'' ("board") to play with, from a variety of previously created ', each with a different selection of images.

The traditional ''Lotería'' card deck is composed of 54 different cards, each with a different picture. To start the game, the caller (''cantor'', "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. In Mexico, it is traditional to use pennies, crown corks or pinto beans as markers. The winner is the first player that shouts ''""'' after completing a pattern on their , similar to bingo: row, column, diagonal, four corners, or unique to this game, four in a square (').

History

The origin of can be traced far back in history. The game originated in Italy in the 15th century and was brought to New Spain (modern Mexico) in 1769. In the beginning, was a hobby of the upper classes, but eventually it became a tradition at Mexican fairs.

Don Clemente Jacques began publishing the game in 1887.Villegas, Teresa
"History of La Lotería"
, ''www.teresavillegas.com'' His version of the game was distributed to Mexican soldiers along with their rations and supplies.

The images Don Clemente used in his card designs have become iconic in Mexican culture, as well as gaining popularity in the U.S. and some European countries. Don Clemente's cards also had a part in representing and normalizing different aspects of Mexico's national identity during the 19th century. This can be seen with the card of ("the soldier"), which was used as a symbol to reference war as a part of Mexico's national identity during that time. Many of the pictures used in Don Clemente's resemble the Major Arcana of Tarot cards used for divination (which, in turn, are based on cards used in Tarot card games). Other popular sets are , and .

Alternative versions

' is a variant version of the traditional Mexican ', where the basic rules apply. For this version, before the game begins, players agree on how many ' are to be completed in a row, column or diagonal pattern. A ' is a group of images in a square. The square may contain 2 x 2 (4) or 3 x 3 (9) images for a traditional '.

During the 1930s, the Roman Catholic church devised its own version of ', most likely because of the connections between Don Clemente's popular images and Tarot cards; divination and fortune-telling are prohibited by Catholic doctrine. This alternative deck consisted of Catholic images instead of the traditional images used in the original game, likely allowing devout Catholics a way to enjoy the game without those "sinful" connotations and giving the Church a way to teach its beliefs by way of the .

With the rise of online gaming and app-based gaming, electronic versions such as the ''Loteria online game'' allow computer users to play an online version of the '.

Cards and associated verses

The following is a list of the original 54 ' cards, traditionally and broadly recognized in Mexico. Along with each card name and number are the verses sometimes used to tell the players which card was drawn. However, there are several less traditional sets of cards, depicting different objects or animals.

In popular culture

In 2017, artist Mike Alfaro created ''Millennial Lotería'', reimagining the game for a millennial audience with new cards such as "''La hashtag''", "''La feminist''" and "''La selfie''".

On December 9, 2019, Google celebrated ' with a Google Doodle. The doodle was a game of that could be played with online players. Some new cards are added: ' ("the search engine"), ' ("the axolotl"), ' ("the emoji"), etc.

In July 2021, Netflix announced a film adaptation based around the game with James Bobin set to direct and Eugenio Derbez in a leading role.

On October 2, 2023, a game show based on ''lotería'' premiered on CBS, titled ''Lotería Loca'' and hosted by Jaime Camil. On each episode, two contestants compete for a chance to win up to $1 million.

See also

* Bài Chòi – a Bingo game from Vietnam that also use cards and a singer

References

Further reading

* ''Lotería: A Novel'', by Mario Alberto Zambrano
* ''Playing Lotería: El Juego de La Lotería'', by René Colato Laínez
* ''El Arte de la Suerte'', by Artes de Mexico Número 13, Otoño 1991, Nueva Época

Loteria Rules and how to play

External links

*

Pictures of different lotería decks
* ''Lotería'' de pozo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loteria (Board Game)
Bingo
Dedicated deck card games
Mexican-American culture
Culture of Mexico
Mexican card games