1: Give every player the same number of counters. Each counter is a life.Five each works well. Three or more players is best.
2: Each player throws one die. The highest throw leads the first round.Turns then go around to the left.
3: The leader throws both dice up to three times and may stop after any throw.However many throws the leader takes is the limit for everyone else that round.
4: Only your last throw counts, even if an earlier one was better.So throwing again always gives up what you had.
5: Read the dice as one number, higher die first: a 6 and a 4 is 64.Doubles beat every such number, and a 2 with a 1, called Mexico, beats everything.
6: Every other player takes a turn within the leader's limit, and may stop sooner.A player happy with a first throw keeps it.
7: The lowest roll of the round gives up one counter and leads the next round.Counters given up go to the middle and are out of the game.
8: A player with no counters is out. The last player holding one wins.Coins, buttons or dried beans all work as counters.
The Mexico dice game takes two dice, a few counters and three or more players. Nobody needs the best roll. Each round only the lowest roll loses, and it costs that player one counter, which is a life.
Read the full guide
Rules for the Mexico dice game: reading the dice
The two dice are never added. The higher die gives the tens and the lower die the ones, so a 5 and a 3 is 53 and never 35. Every roll, best to worst ranks all 21 rolls the dice can make. The middle one is 54: half of all throws beat it.
Where tables differ
Table rulings settles a tie for lowest and what a Mexico does to the round, which at many tables doubles the loss. A round, worked through follows four players from the first throw to the lost counter.
Bring two dice and a handful of counters: the page does not roll.
Leading with a fair first throw? Stand on it. Every extra throw you take is one more for each player behind you.
Questions and answers
How do you play the Mexico dice game?
Each round, every player throws two dice and reads them as one number, higher die first. Doubles beat mixed rolls, and a 2 with a 1 beats everything. The lowest roll gives up a counter, and the last player with counters wins.
What is the Mexican dice game?
It is Mexico under another name. A different game, Mia, ranks the rolls the same way but is a bluffing game. Here nobody hides a roll: the dice are thrown in the open and compared.
What is the highest roll in Mexico?
A 2 and a 1, which is called Mexico and counts as 21. Under it come the six doubles, from double 6 down to double 1, then the mixed rolls from 65 down to 31.
How many times can you roll in Mexico?
The leader of the round may throw up to three times. Everyone after may throw as often as the leader did, or fewer times. Whenever you stop, your last throw is your roll.
1: Give every player the same number of counters. Each counter is a life.Five each works well. Three or more players is best.
2: Each player throws one die. The highest throw leads the first round.Turns then go around to the left.
3: The leader throws both dice up to three times and may stop after any throw.However many throws the leader takes is the limit for everyone else that round.
4: Only your last throw counts, even if an earlier one was better.So throwing again always gives up what you had.
5: Read the dice as one number, higher die first: a 6 and a 4 is 64.Doubles beat every such number, and a 2 with a 1, called Mexico, beats everything.
6: Every other player takes a turn within the leader's limit, and may stop sooner.A player happy with a first throw keeps it.
7: The lowest roll of the round gives up one counter and leads the next round.Counters given up go to the middle and are out of the game.
8: A player with no counters is out. The last player holding one wins.Coins, buttons or dried beans all work as counters.
Show all 29 rows (21 more)
Every roll, best to worst 7
1: Mexico, a 2 and a 1: the best roll, read as 21.Two of the 36 ways two dice can land: one throw in 18.
2: The doubles, from double 6 down to double 1.Any double beats every mixed roll. One throw in six is a double.
3: Sixes: 65, then 64, 63, 62 and 61.65 is the best roll that is neither a double nor Mexico.
4: Fives: 54, then 53, 52 and 51.54 is the middle roll: half of all throws beat it.
5: Fours: 43, then 42 and 41.A 4 and a 3 is 43, never 34: the higher die always comes first.
6: Threes: 32, then 31, the worst roll in the game.Nothing ranks below a 3 and a 1, so a 31 loses unless another player ties it.
7: Equal rolls tie, whichever die shows which number.Two dice land 36 ways, and those make only 21 different rolls.
Table rulings 8
1: A tie for lowest: the tied players play a round between themselves.Whoever throws lowest in that extra round gives up the counter. Ties higher up change nothing.
2: The leader throws Mexico: the dice pass at once, and the next player leads.The first leader is safe for the round. The new leader has up to three throws and sets the limit.
3: Mexico from anyone but the leader is simply the top roll.Another Mexico can tie it. Nothing beats it.
4: Nobody has to use every throw the leader took.Stop after any throw. All you need is to stay off the bottom.
5: A throw you have thrown over is gone.There is no going back to a better first or second throw.
6: Rules vary: at many tables a Mexico in the round costs the loser two counters.Agree before the first throw, and agree whether a second Mexico raises it again.
7: Throw into a tray or a box lid, so the dice stay on the table.A die that lands on the floor or leans: throw both dice again. Our ruling.
8: Short on time? Start with three counters each.Our suggestion. Fewer lives, the same rules.
A round, worked through 6
1: The leader throws a 4 and a 2, which is 42, and throws again.Only six throws in 36 fall below a 42, so it is a weak roll to stand on.
2: The second throw is a 6 and a 3: 63. The leader stops.The limit for this round is now two throws each.
3: Player two throws double 5 and stops at once.Only double 6 and Mexico beat it.
4: Player three throws 31, the worst roll, then a 6 and a 1: 61.That was the second throw of two, so 61 stands.
5: Player four throws 64, tries for more and gets a 3 and a 2: 32.The 64 is gone: only the last throw counts.
6: 32 is the lowest roll of the round, so player four gives up a counter.Player four leads the next round and sets a new limit.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-08, in our own words. Mexico is a traditional game with no governing body, and rules vary from table to table. The standard game (two dice read as one number with the higher die first; doubles above every mixed roll; a 2 and a 1, called Mexico, above everything; one die thrown for the first lead; the leader's one to three throws as the limit for the round; the last throw counting; the lowest roll losing and leading the next round; a tie for lowest played off; the leader's Mexico passing the lead on; a Mexico doubling the loss at many tables; a walled surface to throw on) was checked on 2026-10-08 against English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, in its article Mexico (game), and against a family rules page, https://www.whatdowedoallday.com/mexico-dice-game-strategy-luck-for-families/, which also gives five counters each and three or more players. Both describe a game usually played for a stake. This page leaves the stake out and plays for lives kept with counters, the way Wikipedia gives for playing without one. The worked round, the ruling on a dropped die and the three-counter game are this site's own suggestions and are not official. The chances were counted from the 36 ways two fair dice can land. Nothing is played for money: counters only keep score. Licence: own work