How to use the score sheet
Mexico (Meksiko, also called Gangsters) is easy to deal and hard to score from memory: the caller's points depend on the bid, the other two players score their own tricks, and a single fall can wipe out a good lead. The sheet does the arithmetic so the table can argue about the cards instead.
- Type the three names and choose the target. The standard game is a race to 51. 31 and 101 make a shorter or a longer evening, and 10 is a quick game like the Mini tables online.
- Pick the scoring. Easy is what the public tables on Mexico Club use. Normal is the stricter version used in tournaments. Both are explained below.
- After every deal, mark who won the bidding, the winning bid, and how many tricks each player took. The three numbers always add up to 10, and the sheet will tell you if they do not.
- Read the table. Each row shows the change for every player and the new totals. The caller's cell is tinted, and turns red when the bid fell. When someone reaches the target, a banner names the winner.
Made a mistake? Undo last deal removes the last row so you can enter it again. You can also change the names, the target or the scoring at any time: the whole game is recalculated from the deals.
How a deal is scored
The player who won the auction is the caller. The other two are the Gangsters, who play together to bring the caller down. The sheet uses exactly the rules of the game on Mexico Club, which you can also read in full on the rules page.
- The caller makes the bid (takes at least as many tricks as the bid) and scores every trick taken, not only the bid. A made Mexico is always worth 20.
- The caller falls (takes fewer tricks than the bid) and loses the bid in Easy scoring, twice the bid in Normal. Mexico counts as a bid of 20, so a failed Mexico costs 20 or 40.
- Each Gangster scores the tricks they took, whether the caller made it or not. On a Mexico deal those tricks count double.
- A Gangster with no tricks scores 0 in Easy. In Normal they lose the bid.
- No total goes below 0. If a minus would take a player under zero, the total stops at 0 and the sheet shows the smaller change with a note.
Worked examples
Ana, Marko and Jelena are playing to 51 with Easy scoring.
- Ana bids 5 and takes 8 tricks. She made it, so she scores the tricks she took: +8. Marko took 1 and Jelena 1, so each writes +1.
- Marko bids 7 and takes only 6. He fell: −7 in Easy, −14 in Normal. Ana took 3 tricks and scores +3, Jelena took 1 and scores +1.
- Jelena has 5 points and falls on a 7. A −7 would take her to −2, but a total never goes under zero. Her total becomes 0, and the sheet writes −5 with the note "−7, stops at 0".
- Ana calls Mexico and takes all 10 tricks. A made Mexico is worth +20, more than a made 10.
- Ana calls Mexico again, but Marko takes 2 tricks. Ana falls and loses 20. Marko's 2 tricks count double on a Mexico deal: +4.
- Normal scoring: Marko bids 7 and Jelena takes no tricks. In Normal a Gangster with nothing loses the bid, so Jelena writes −7. If her total is below 7, she loses only what she has and stops at 0.
One consequence of Normal scoring surprises many players: when the caller takes all ten tricks, the other two have taken none, so each of them loses the bid. A made 10 costs both Gangsters 10, and a made Mexico costs them 20 each.
When does the game end?
The score is checked at the end of every deal. As soon as at least one player has reached the target (51 or more in the standard game), the game is over and the highest total wins. Reaching exactly 51 is enough. If two players pass the target in the same deal, the one with more points wins. If the two best totals are equal, the sheet shows them sharing first place.
Because a fall can cost so much, a lead is never safe. A player on 46 who calls 7 and falls drops to 39, while a Gangster who took four tricks in the same deal may suddenly be the one closest to the finish.
Easy or Normal?
Easy forgives more: a fall costs only the bid, and sitting a deal out with no tricks costs nothing. It suits mixed tables and new players, and it is what the public and Mini tables on Mexico Club play. Normal rewards careful bidding: a fall costs double, and a Gangster who takes nothing pays for it. Tournaments on Mexico Club use Normal, and private rooms can choose either. Agree on one before the first deal.
A paper sheet for the table
Print a blank sheet gives you one page with a column for each player and 25 rows, which is usually enough for a whole game to 51. Write the caller and the bid in the second column and the running totals under the names. Print this sheet prints the game you have entered so far.
New to the game? Start with the rules, look up any word in the glossary, and read the strategy guide before your next bid. When you are short of a third player, the same rules are waiting at the tables on Mexico Club.