Mexican Train Dominoes Gold Reviews

When you are playing in the AI mode I have noticed that often when you start to win, the AI then starts using all the other players as a team to try to defeat you. Instead of playing to win, like a normal human player would, one of the AI bots will start sacrificing itself just in order to sabotage you. It makes moves that are counterintuitive and drive up it’s own score just to also drive up yours. I usually defeat the AI anyway, but it’s still discouraging that the game is programmed this way. It is an obvious ploy to try to get money from you, because they then offer to let you “win the previous” round if you pay them to do so. There are much better Mexican Train apps out there, don’t waste any of your money on this one.

The new update Is SO HORRIBLE!!! The “draw” and “pass” buttons are difficult to discern when that is your next directive. After YEARS of playing real Mexican Train Dominos, and not needing to click a pass button, the more obvious reminder was certainly helpful before this “update”. If you keep alternate lines or your trash in the bottom corners, when swiping them to play it swipes the entire game off my iPad. Counterproductive and highly annoying! The pips are now muted, metallic-looking with 3-D highlights that eliminates 1/2 of the pip, which is already muted and difficult to distinguish. The old scoreboard, which used to resemble a train schedule (you know... the theme of this game) is now a very limited view which requires scrolling but never showing the entire picture. All in all, an update that has inspired me to try and find this game somewhere else. Sad and disappointed!!! Oh, helpful hint... to get rid of the flashing disco, showing all the possible moves you don’t want, uncheck the “hint” box in options. So annoying! Please return this game to its former glory!

I am glad I’m not the only one that is truly disappointed. I loveED this game before. Now I avoid it at all cost. Bring back the original please for the love of God!! Issues: the colors are harsh as hell...the game play is slow as hell!!!.....I know I have to close a double!! The movements are chunky like you have to let it register you picked that domino and then move. Why not make more options for experienced players that allow the game to go quicker and smoother. I don’t need you to highlight where I need to play. The absolutely hate the new colors. I’d like to delete it alone for that reason. Offer color options so if we want to go back we can. The train thing seems strange I want a fictional person I can beat or hate lol. I could go on but why?!? I’m hoping I will be able to come back and change my review

I just can’t believe that my favorite game has been destroyed by its makers. Every single decision was wrong. They changed the timing of the game so that it practically moves in slow motion. It drags until I just about scream waiting to be able to move.
They changed all the colors. Now, why when your players have been playing for years with certain colors meaning certain numbers, would they suddenly be changed. And also to a totally different “look”, and an unattractive one at that. The original game posted the score spreadsheet. This revision only shows half the scores! Why on earth make that change! The way Mexican Train was set up before, each player was given a Mexican name. Did someone object to being beaten by “ethnics”? Did they prefer playing with Muffy and Charles? I am so upset. The game was great before. I recommended it to everyone I met. I would pay to get the old game back. I can tell that I will have to give up this game. There is absolutely nothing to like!

I play this game nearly every single day. EVERY day. I love it. I paid extra to be able to play a full 13 rounds with three computer players. Now you just change it without warning and there are only two computer players and the highest domino is the double 9’s instead of 12’s. I wouldn’t mind if we had the option of going back to 4 players and start with the double 12 domino, but it’s not even a choice! What the hell? The computer players have no names anymore. Let me guess...someone complained that using Hispanic names for the computer players was something “racist” and you felt pressure to be politically correct. And also, I am guessing, people wanted to be able to play against live people, either online or in person. Well, one of my favorite things about the game were that I didn’t need internet to play it. I liked your original colors better, and the whole screen was more visually appealing. Now it’s garish. I’m so mad. Here’s an idea: create an option to play it in its ORIGINAL mode again, if we like. AT THE VERY LEAST, bring back a four-player total and the double 12 dominoes. THAT’S what I paid extra for. Or did you want to refund my money for an upgrade that no longer exists? I’m betting you don’t want to do that! It’s Mexican Train for heavens sake. Stay true to the game.

Easy mode is easy to beat and i thought I’ll try medium for a challenge. It isn’t just a step up it is almost impossible. The computer players play like they know what is in your hand. It will block any set up
On the train when I try to set it up for a double. When it leaves an open double it is one you don’t have and most likely not draw. The computer will not play on your open train unless that is the only move available. Who will win the round it is the yellow player always. Very rarely will it take any point or will you win a round let alone the game. The game doesn’t bother mixing it up with the other computer player. If you are a decent train player you will come in second. It is a nice time filler in easy mode but the higher the difficulty means you have to play the all knowing computer that plays nowhere near what a human plays.

UPDATE: Thanks to the developers for responding to many of the complaints about the new release. The speed of the game is much improved! Will give it another try. Still not a fan of the new confusing option screens such as the one for picking number of players and difficulty. Plus my brain is still expecting the old tile colors.

Original review:
NOT a fan of the latest upgrade! It is Sooo Sloooow compared to the original version even with all the hints and dialog turned off. The options are confusing. The play is so sluggish and not worth my time to play anymore. This used to be my go-to game every day but I have pretty much stopped playing it now. Tried again today to give it another chance but same frustration. Why didn’t you just leave the original version as is?! There are so many changes in the new release that it should have been issued as a totally different App. Then people could have chosen which one they wanted to play instead of being forced into unwanted changes. Won’t be playing anymore.

The old Mexican Train Dominos game I used to play (and love) no longer exists and I couldn't get it when I got my new phone. So, I've been looking for a good replacement. Most versions are horrible but I was excited to finally find this one. I see lots of complaints about the latest update and I agree, but my biggest complaint is about how non-realistic the game is.

I am an advanced player and I play the real game at home with friends and family all the time. In the real game it happens frequently that someone will start off by having to draw or they will only gave a couple of plays before they gave to draw. In MexicanTrainDominoesGold version that rarely happens. The red player almost never has to draw, they ALWAYS have multiple doubles they can play on, and they almost always win every round. Even on the rounds I do win, the red player only gets a few points so it's impossible to catch up. I plan my moves in advance and even on my own train I can usually line up almost every tile. I rarely get a chance to play them all though.

This outcome is nothing like the real game. I want there to be a challenge but I also don't want to lose every round. I also noticed that the other players almost never play on the Mexican Train until they are out of moves on their own train. That hardly ever happens with players who know what they are doing.

I hope these issues can be fixed because I find myself just wanting to delete MexicanTrainDominoesGold and play the version I liked on my old work phone.

I played this a lot in the previous version and really enjoyed it as a way to kill time in waiting rooms, on the bus, etc. I gave the new version a chance, but while I was trying to figure it out, I accidentally pushed a button that tried to perform an in-app purchase. I don’t think it went through, and it prompted me to put some extra protections up against accidental in-app purchases on my phone. But seriously? I think the button was something to avoid taking points for the round. People are not playing this as a hyper-competitive experience - it’s just a fun thing to do on our phones. Maybe you weren’t making enough on as revenue. Anyway, it left a bad taste in my mouth and I’ve deleted MexicanTrainDominoesGold for now.

I like this game. I really do. But, when I paid for the ad free version, I noticed that 9 times out of 10, when I’m winning, the game will make me draw a double blank tile at very end of the hand so that I don’t have a chance. Or the last hand of the game, I’ll end up with 150 pts. So, I feel like the game is rigged. So dumb, but imo the tiles don’t seem random. I mean occasionally, I do win. And, sometimes I come back from a losing start and win, but most of the time, it seems rigged against me. Like how does it know to play a tile on the communal train just when I’m going to, or how come the robot players never draw and draw and draw. They always seem to draw just what they need. Annoying. I wish I actually could draw my own tiles.

Great version of Mexican Train Dominoes but I have 2 big gripes. One is that even with the paid “no-ads” version, there is a prominent button on the interface that takes you to the developer’s other games. (The dice icon). It is in a VERY prominent place on the interface and it only takes once to not accidentally tap it again BUT it bothers me every time I look at it. I know it isn’t technically an advertisement (or is it?) but I paid to not have to deal with going anywhere FROM MexicanTrainDominoesGold to anywhere else where I am presented with other things to purchase/download.

The other gripe is there should be a way to zoom out on all the pieces that have been played. It is nice to have an idea of what numbers have been played for strategy and while it is possible by scrolling on each track, it is cumbersome.

I highly recommend this game if you like Dominoes but if you are like me and the above two issues bother you… just factor that in before buying.

Updated review:
This update is much better, easier on my eyes to see. I haven’t been playing it since the previous update and now I will be able to play it again without straining my eyes. I miss the computer players having names, would like to see that improved. I still think the options for choosing game type and difficulty is confusing, so that’s why I am only giving 3 stars.

Previous review:
I wish I would have read the reviews before updating. The new update is hard on my eyes and the dominoes seem blurry. This is really a bummer. I guess this will help me be on my phone less. Hoping our feedback with our unhappiness will result in MexicanTrainDominoesGold being changed back, since it was advertised our feedback inspired the changes. The options for the games are more confusing. There is an option to play the full 13 rounds and to have 4 players, but it’s confusing getting it set up correctly. I hope there will be an update soon so I can go back to the old app. :(

Patterns: The 1st player usually loses (often by a lot), and almost always plays most of their dominoes on the engine’s train right from the beginning of each round. I win most of the time. The 2nd player rarely plays on the engine’s train. It would be a better game if these patterns varied. Also, I don’t mind the ads except for the sound that plays even when I’ve turned off the in-app sounds. There’s usually a reason why someone doesn’t want the noise, like not wanting to disturb other people in the room. I usually leave the game immediately when ads come up playing sound.

I lay out the tiles and work them to optimize the length of the train I can play on my own train. When I first installed this, this strategy caused me to win almost every time. I preferred it to be more challenging though. Something changed! Now, using the same strategy, the two automated competitors win almost every time. They draw a tile that plays more often than not and I draw a tile that plays about one out of 4 or 5 draws. I reach 1 domino first most of the time but usually draw 4 or 5 while the competitors catch up and win. Now I dislike the game for the opposite reason. In spite of playing well and having an advantage at the end, I hardly ever win now! Crazy. Is a happy medium algorithm really that hard to write. Also, if you can’t play anywhere why do you have to draw? I understand drawing if you could draw one to play but if it is impossible to play what you draw why draw?

Every night I played this game and loved it! I am an older person and the colors are so light I cannot tell one number from another! It is confusing, I will not be playing it any longer it is so frustrating! The least you could do was offer both versions so we had a choice! Goodbye to this game until it changes back!

update: The color of the dominos are much better, so thank you for that!! I am enjoying playing again. There is still something different. Still miss the players and do not like the dock that rises often and pulls another screen up!

My previous review was a one star rating. This has always been a five star game, but when my game automatically updated to the new version, I started getting the ads, only had up to double nines, and I didn’t like the new format, colors, nothing.

Within 24 hours, however, the ads were gone. I still don’t like the colors because now they seem to be more like “emojis” than the realistic dominos they used to be. The colors used to be much easier to spot than they are now.

All that being said, it has become my favorite game again, and I’m sure I will get used to the new format. They say they are still working on the game to bring back some features that are missing (player names, scoring menu, etc.), so maybe I’ll bump it back up to five stars. We’ll see. Thanks for not making me pay for the upgrade again!

I got quite frustrated playing the advanced AI version as the computer players almost NEVER had to draw, anytime I played the train another player jumped in or played on my train the second I had to draw. Every game, I would end up with the same number of stray tiles I had at the beginning as the computer players seemed to be able to play their entire hand in one string or I would end up drawing 8-10 tiles. Really?
The game I’ve played for over a year is no longer on MexicanTrainDominoesGold Store so when I got a new phone I had to look for a new game. As an advanced player, I tried the advanced AI. I don’t mind a harder game but one where you can’t get an advantage no matter what took all the fun away. I find it more satisfying to play the standard format. Please fix the algorithm for the advanced AI so a strategic player can have a decent chance to win.

Game is played exactly the way I remember playing it years ago, and I'm hooked. The only thing I can think of for any improvement is that we could invite a friend to play along and have a chat room. Great game.
After having it for quite a while; It is still a great game and great to have when you have to hurry up and wait. I’m not really happy with this latest up date, it seams to be missing a lot: 1- I can’t find where to put in my name as a player. 2- It talks about playing the classic game but I haven’t been able to find it.
Not fond of playing pass and play or I don’t understand it, and not used to keeping score except at the end of each round the pips left in your hand are added up and added to ones own score and at the end of game the one with the lowest score is the winner.
I don’t know if I’m missing something here or if it is a glitch.

Following up on my lymphoma treatment and stem cell transplantation over the past 18 months featured many-faceted recovery steps. Fifteen chemo drugs skewed space and time awareness, and diddled my memory and other cognitive functions necessary for normal thinking. I have found that playing games featuring numbers, matching, timing, colors, etc. are highly recommended for "relearning" or "reteaching" the brain to reason. I have several games that I play online five and six times a day, and the success in reducing the "fog" has been a thrill. This Mexican Train Dominos app is one of my favorites -- seems to hit all the high notes and gives a clear level of success feedback every time. Terrific! Just wish there were a way to enter my name where it says "Player."

Thank you so much for the recent update. I was getting very frustrated with that lag after a player drew or played a double as well as mixing a couple of similar colors up when organizing tiles which cost a problem with sequencing. It is nice to be back closer to the old color scheme which is what I was used to looking for to match my numbers. Well done and rapid response/fix! Thanks for helping me return to the full enjoyment of the game again. This is only one of two games I have on my phone that I play consistently.

I have several Mexican train games downloaded and this is by far my favorite. However I wish you would take the big huge white banner off that tells me I have to cover the double. It is obvious that I do and it really slows down the game. The other problem I have is when I turned on my computer yesterday the game was gone. I redownloaded it and it went back to double nines. The first time I got it it started with double nines also but play began with double sixes and after a few months it mysteriously began with double twelves. I was very happy, now it disappeared I reloaded and I've gone back to nines and play begins with sixes. It's kind of a mess again. Hope you can fix it because I would rather pay at least a small fee and have it play more consistently.

I really enjoy this game. Years ago I played the game with regular dominoes. I do have one problem which you can easily fix. I try to check my score by pushing that button. It does not give you your correct score. I would appreciate it if you would fix it.

I still enjoy this game. I play it everyday. However I have a new problem. The McDonalds ad. The last few days it appears. I can’t get out of it. I have to quit the game for several hours until it disappears. Annoying and frustrating.