La Loteria
Date
Credits
- Don Clemente Jacques Designer
Format
- Board Game 29
Type of Work
- Finished work 5435
Techniques
- printing 398
Links
Originated in Italy, brought over to Spain and finally arriving in Mexico in 1769, the game “Loteria” was initially played by those in high society. However it eventually spread to those of all social and economic classes. The game itself is akin to American Bingo, with its own share of differences of course. While in American Bingo a number associated with a letter is randomly drawn by a lottery drum, a random illustrated image is drawn from a special set of 54 cards in Loteria. In both games, the players each have a different board or “tabla” and the goal is fill up their board/tabla first. Typically people use raw beans as markers, but you can really use anything you have an abundance of; coins, beads, pebbles etc. While the number associated letters are called out in Bingo, for Loteria, the announcer says an improvised short poetic or humorous analogy for the card they are announcing. First person to fill up their entire board and shout “Loteria” wins. The game can be enjoyed with players of all ages and is a way to build community. Don Clemente Jaques began pushing his re-designed version of the game in 1887, and it took off. Loteria is now regarded as one of the most iconic games in Mexican culture.
