One of the anchorworks or selected artworks for our 2023-2024 Theme and Anchorworks Guide, “A Year of Play” is Rene Colato Laniez’s bilingual book “Playing Loteria.” In the spirit of play and artful connections, P.S. ARTS has created a downloadable Loteria game to share and play with friends.
Now, let’s play Loteria! Loteria, which is the Spanish word for lottery, is a fun game of chance played in Mexican culture. Create your own deck of 54 Loteria cards using our printable template and play with your friends and family.
1. Download and print our P.S. ARTS-designed cards and tables. Or to design your own game, use these templates for cards and tables.
2. Cut out the 54 cards and gather as many tables as you have players.
3. If you are making your own cards and tables, decide on your design then draw 54 images for the cards. You can personalize your Lotería cards based on a theme. For example, you can choose objects around your house, things that are important to you, art that you love, or different kinds of animals.
4. Draw a picture on each card and then add the matching images randomly on the tables so all drawn images are included. Color in your cards and tables.
Now you are ready to play! Check out our reel on how to play Loteria and start playing!
HOW TO PLAY LOTERIA
(1) First, gather your friends or “familia” (family). To start playing each “jugador” (player) receives a Lotería game board, which is a square grid with different pictures or symbols on it. The game also requires a deck of Lotería cards, which have corresponding pictures or symbols to those on the game boards.
(2) One person takes on the role of the “cantor” (caller). The caller shuffles the Lotería deck and draws one card at a time, announcing the image or symbol on the card.
(3) As the caller announces each card, players check their game boards to see if they have a matching picture or symbol. If they do, they can place a marker, such as a small pebble or “un frijol” (bean) on that space.
(4) The objective is to complete a predetermined pattern on the game board. Common patterns can include a straight line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal), four corners, or filling the entire board. The first player to complete the pattern and call out “Lotería!” or “¡Bueno!” is the winner!
(5) Once a player claims a win, the caller verifies that the player has correctly marked the matching symbols on their game board. If the claim is valid, that player wins the round. If the claim is incorrect, the game continues until a valid win is achieved.
(6) Have fun playing and remember… you have the freedom to imagine and the power to create!
We want to see what you create! Tag us on social media at #PSARTS to show us your Loteria cards and how you play.
