🌀 Pirinola online — spin the top, take the chips, don’t go broke

What is a pirinola?

A pirinola is a small six-sided spinning top found in almost every Mexican home. Each side tells you what to do: Toma 1 (take one), Toma 2 (take two), Pon 1 (put one), Pon 2 (put two), Toma todo (take all) and Todos ponen (everybody puts). Families play it for beans, candy or buttons at birthday parties, at Christmas posadas and around the table after dinner. A six-year-old learns it in one turn, and the grown-ups get just as loud.

If you know the dreidel, you already know the idea: the top decides, and the suspense is who runs out of chips first. Our version is a family-friendly online pirinola game for groups. The top spins on everyone’s screen at the same moment, the server keeps the pot and the chip counts, and the players can be in different houses or different countries.

How to play pirinola: the rules

1. Everyone starts with the same stack of chips: 5, 10 or 15, chosen by the host. At the start each player puts one chip into the shared pot.
2. Players take turns spinning the top. The side that stops under the pointer is your result.
3. Take 1 / Take 2 — take one or two chips from the pot. If the pot holds less, you take what is there.
4. Put 1 / Put 2 — put one or two of your chips into the pot.
5. Take all (Toma todo) — the whole pot is yours. Expect cheering.
6. All put (Todos ponen) — every player still in the game puts one chip in.
7. Whenever the pot is empty, everyone still playing puts in one chip again, so there is always something in the middle.
8. If you can’t pay in full, you hand over what you have and you’re out. The game ends when only one player has chips left, or after the set number of rounds (5, 10 or 15). Then the player with the most chips wins; a tie shares the win.

Play pirinola online with family and friends

1. Open Pirinola and create a room. You get a link and a four-character code.
2. Send the link to the family group chat. Grandparents, kids and friends open it on a phone, type a name and land in the lobby. No account, no app download.
3. Two to ten players per table. Short on people? The host adds bots. At least one real player is needed, so you can also practice alone.
4. On your turn tap “Spin!”. The top whirls on every screen and stops on the side the server picked. A floating “+2” or “−1” over each player card shows who won and who paid.
5. Lost your connection? After a few seconds auto-play spins for you, and when you come back in the same browser you keep your chips.
6. After the game the host taps “Rematch” (the next player spins first) or switches the same room to another game without sending a new link.

Explaining the game to kids in one minute

Show them the top and say: “Plus means take from the middle, minus means put into the middle, the star takes everything, and the little people mean everybody pays.” That is enough to start. Every side of our top has a big symbol (+1, +2, −1, −2, a star and two people) plus the action written in the player’s language, so even kids who are still learning to read understand the result from the picture. After each spin a line under the button tells who took or paid how much, who is out, and when the pot was refilled.

For younger children, try 15 chips and 5 rounds: nobody drops out too early, and at the end you can count together who has the most. Teens and adults usually prefer 5 chips, where every “Put 2” turns into real drama and the players who are out cheer for the rest. Each player card has a small “wealth” bar, so you can see who is leading at a glance.

Lobby settings

• Chips each: 5 for a two-minute game, 10 for the classic, 15 for a long evening full of comebacks.
• Rounds: 5, 10 or 15. A round is one trip of the top around the table. If nobody goes broke by then, the richest player wins.
• Turn timer: off, 15 or 30 seconds. With a timer the top spins by itself when someone is daydreaming or away from the phone.

Why this Mexican spinning top game works for groups

There is no strategy to study, so everybody at the table has the same chance: a seven-year-old can beat grandpa, and a first-timer can beat the cousin who grew up with a pirinola in her pocket. Four players with 10 chips and 10 rounds finish in about ten minutes, and one lucky “Take all” near the end flips the standings. It is a great warm-up before a longer game: switch the same room to Lotería or Generala with the same people and the same link.

It works on a video call with relatives, at a kids’ party and in the classroom: put the screen on the projector and let the children take turns spinning. For more family ideas, see our holiday party games and how to play with friends online.