Loteria Mexican Bingo Game: The Destiny of Things, Story # 177

Loteria Mexican Bingo Game:  The Destiny of Things, Story # 177

Going all the way to Puerto Vallarta!

 photo via blog of  paper cuts and bigger things

I received this email out of the blue from an Etsy buyer:

I received my order and love it and think that it was so cool that you included a little prize pack. The handwritten note was a bonus so I am taking time to reply. I purchased this to take to my wedding in Puerto Vallarta and will be doing loteria poolside! I thought it was such an appropriate, fun and easy game (and in perfect condition!)

Gracias!

 photo via The Destiny of Things, available here

How fun to be playing this poolside in Puerta Vallarta!  Yes ,this game is fun and easy and builds Spanish vocabulary too!  And with this game set, if you want to make the playing more challenging you can play it the traditional way by calling or singing the riddles on the back of the card, instead of calling out the numbers!

Here's how to play Loteria from wiki:

Lotería is a Mexican game of chance, similar to bingo, but using images on a deck of cards instead of plain numbers on ping pong balls. Every image has a name and an assigned number, but the number is usually ignored. Each player has at least one tabla, a board with a randomly created 4 x 4 grid of pictures with their corresponding name and number. Players choose what tabla they want to play with, from a variety of previously created tablas. Each one presents a different selection of images.

Lotería is the Spanish word for lottery. The deck is composed of a set of 54 different images, each one in a card. To start the game, the caller (cantor, or singer) randomly selects a card from the deck and announces it to the players by its name, sometimes using a riddle or humorous patter instead of reading the card name. The players with a matching pictogram on their board mark it off with a chip or other kind of marker (many Mexican people traditionally use small rocks, crown corks or pinto beans as markers). The first player with four chips in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row, squared pattern,any other previously specified pattern, or fills the tabla first shouts "¡Lotería!" (Lottery!) or "¡Buenas!" (Good!) and is the winner.

I used this game in the classroom in many different instructional ways and we used pinto beans and small rocks as markers.  It also has more games on the back of each page or tabla, which in the classroom the winners got to play.  Now and in the past I've used them in my mixed media art.

photo via The Destiny of Things, available here

Saying Goodbye:  I've loved the graphics on these since I first saw them as a child.  Later, as a teacher I thought it was a good game to play in class to show diversity and empathy.  Back when I taught, the majority of the students were Spanish learners and playing this game helped them feel more at home and gave them an opportunity to help the English learners with fun and excitement.

What I Learned:

1.  I love these so much, I use them as a reminder to myself that dehoarding is like a game of chance.  Sometimes I have no idea where it will take me and who knows what will happen when my hoard is gone.  I've mentioned this several times, but when I'm letting go of a piece of my hoard one of my favorite things to do is to collect all the things for the little prize pack to send along as a "thank you" for the buyer and a reminder to myself that I'm getting closer to a future without hoard!

photo via Hoarder Rehab, available here, here and here

2.  I bought a bunch of these games because they are cardboard like and I was going to make boxes out of them, but I haven't yet.  It's been put on my art project list!  Which seems to be working for me, so I am making progress past my hoarding habits!

In the past I've used them in my mixed media art, which I haven't found because I think I gave them all away, but I do have photos of them somewhere!

3.  I did use them in one of my project days a couple of weeks ago using the leftover hearts from the heart doilies from this post here, where I've started to make "to do" lists of art project days since so much of my hoard are things I buy for art projects, then forget about them and move on to the next project.

I'm not quite sure what to do with them, but it was fun!  And it felt good to create, instead of just buying to create in the future.  Loteria game available here and the heart doilies here.

How would you craft with them?  I've seen used on Day of the Dead wedding matchboxes, gift boxes and tags, book and journal covers, jewelry and many different mixed media art assemblages.

Thank you kind Etsy buyer from The Destiny of Things for dropping an email and leaving your story to help me with mine.  It was a good reminder to make boxes with my loteria game tablets!

Congratulations and Best Wishes to you and yours!  Have fun in Puerto Vallarta.  I loved the para sailing, horse back riding and tourist trip to see the silver makers in Taxco.

Thank you Etsy for helping me with my Hoarder Rehab adventures!

Thank you US, China, Brazil, Mexico, UK, Singapore, France, Russia, Romania and others for your visits and keeping me company with my  HoarderRehab and The Destiny of Things!  

Click on the shop names to visit my hoard listed daily: HoarderRehab,  The Destiny of Things, VintageToGoEasy and now JunkDrawerLove!  There are about 104 items listed on JunkDrawerLove and relistings to each shops daily and adding new listings weekly to all shops too!  Thanks for looking!  Find something to take home and share your story too!

Here's the same loteria game, but with different more modernized graphics, here!

Related Stories:

1.  Loteria Story from someone learning Spanish, here!

2.  Day of the Dead Wedding Topper made with my skull bead destash, read it here!  Thank you Jim Gould at Etsy shop, Your Tops!  Also a confessed hoarder or at least questioning it by his wife's acknowledgements!  See his handmade Day of the Dead wedding cake topper with my white skull bead destash here! 

3.  Coincidental 7 year Wedding Copper Anniversaries:  Sacred Heart Mexican Tin Nichos:  The Destiny of Things, Story #10 and #11

"To improve is to change... to perfect is to change often." ---Winston Churchill