Google doodle brings back traditional Mexican game 'Loteria' amid COVID-19 lockdown

While the world is grappling to contain the deadly coronavirus and majority of countries are under lockdown, Google on May 5 shared a throwback game, Loteria. A traditional Mexican game which was published back in December 2019, Loteria is similar to Bingo. 

The rules of the game are simple, players are supposed to mark spots on a board with a token or traditionally raw bean. The main aim of the game is to fill the board before all the players. To play the traditional game, the care announcer pulls out illustrated cases such as La Luna and El Arbol from a deck. Then the players are supposed to locate the card announced on their boat and mark it. 

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Once the player completes the board, he/she is then required to shout out ‘Loteria’. The first person to shout ‘Loteria’ is then declared the winner. According to the Google doodle page, the game is still widely popular across Mexico and Latin community, whether language teaching tool or for family game night. While the doodle was created by five Mexican and Mexican-American illustrators, a Mexican YouTuber Luisito Comunica provided the VoiceOver for the card announcer. 

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Spicy fun game

In a bid to keep people busy amid such unprecedented times, Google has been featuring games over the past weeks. Recently, the search engine also launched another throwback doodle game in honour of the American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville for people to play the game and stay indoors during the COVID-19 outbreak. The doodle was designed in 2016 to commemorate Scoville’s 151st birthday who is primarily remembered for his research of the spicy chilli peppers are a pain reliever. Therefore, the doodle game features game of the ice-cream and peppers based on his Organoleptic test which he invented in 1912. 

"As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, people and families everywhere are spending more time at home. In light of this, we're launching a throwback Doodle series looking back at some of our popular interactive Google Doodle games!" Google wrote on its website. 

Further, Google said, "Before Wilbur Scoville, however, no one knew how to measure a pepper's "heat". The doodle team thought his work in this field and the development of his eponymous Scoville Scale-deserved some recognition."  

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