Drinking game classic

Mexican: Rules, Setup and How to Play

Mexican, often just called the Cross, is played with a cross of cards in the middle of the table. The rows stand for different sip values.

Players match hand cards to a five-card cross
Players
3 to 8
Duration
15 to 30 minutes
What you need
Deck of cards, drinks
Vibe
Tactical, social, bluff-friendly

Rules

Mexican in 4 steps

Prefer zero prep? Open Luminary in the App Store

Every player holds hand cards. When the cross cards are flipped and you hold the same value, you hand out or take sips depending on the direction of the cross arm.

  1. Build the cross

    Five cards form a cross in the middle, all face down. Each player gets their hand cards.

  2. Reveal the cross

    Turn the cross cards over one after another, from the outside in. The position sets the value (for example 1 to 5 sips).

  3. Match the values

    Whoever holds a card value that matches the revealed card lays it down and hands out or drinks according to the arm.

  4. The centre is the peak

    The middle card counts for the most. The biggest sips fall here, so hold on to your strong cards.

Variations

  • Bluffing allowed: you may lay down a card you don't actually have a match for. If someone doubts you and turns it over, the liar drinks double, and if the doubter was wrong, they drink instead.
  • Swap the directions: in some groups horizontal means drink and vertical means give out. The main thing is to agree beforehand.
  • Without alcohol, hand out points instead of sips, and whoever has the fewest points at the end wins.

FAQ

Mexican FAQ

More games

A Luminary mode for your phone plus more classics for your game night.

Bring the party game that runs the whole night

Choose decks, add your group, and start with 11,000+ questions and challenges across five formats. Free for iPhone, with no ads and offline play.

Get Luminary on the App Store