What is Loteria?

Loteria is a game of chance that is similar to American Bingo. The big difference is that Loteria has pictures and a corresponding word in each square compared to just having numbers. Each loteria square also has a tiny number in the corner, but this is just for numbering them and they don’t really mean anything in the actual game.

Image credit: Abbey Hendrickson

The loteria game has playing board and playing cards. Each player can play with one or more boards but for beginners, it is recommended to start with one board. All players also have playing markers. In the original game, uncooked pinto beans are the common playing marker. At the beginning of the game, the deck of playing cards are shuffled and the person calling the cards starts pulling one card at a time, saying what each card is so all players can hear.

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Image credit: Loteria Studio

Traditionally, the person calling the cards sometimes includes a short phrase or poem regarding the calling card they drew. Although, this is not required to play the game.

Example in Spanish:

El paraguas

Para el sol y para el agua.

Example in English:

The Umbrella

For the sun and for water.

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The cards can be drawn from the top or bottom of the deck, usually the person can switch from top to bottom. The drawn cards are placed face up on the table so all the players can see them.

Players place their playing marker in the corresponding object if they have it in their playing board. Once they have a winning pattern, they yell “loteria”. The person calling the cards verifies the winning pattern and cards to confirm the win.

The winner usually receives a small gift or they will receive the money that people bet for that round.