Key Takeaways
A small clue on a small napkin
A loose restaurant napkin from Vips in Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico (North America), held a neat little drawing made by a nine-year-old girl who will turn ten on May 23, 2026.
A likely source: a classic pen-and-paper game
The marks match the feel of Dots and Boxes, a competitive dots-and-lines game often called Timbiriche in Mexico (North America).
Copying is not a problem by default
Imitation is a basic way children learn skills, and pattern games make copying look like “new art” when it is really practice.
Story & Details
A family table, a plain napkin, a surprising sketch
By early January 2026, the meal at Vips in Poza Rica, Veracruz, Mexico (North America), was already over, but one small object stayed memorable: a loose napkin with a child’s drawing. The first feeling was doubt. Did the child invent it, or copy it? The second feeling was stronger: the shape looked like something seen before at the same kind of table.
How the game works when it is played as a race
Dots and Boxes begins with a grid of dots. Two players take turns drawing one line, either horizontal or vertical, between two neighboring dots. A player who closes the fourth side of a square wins that square, marks it, and plays again. The board fills up. The score is the number of squares claimed, and the winner is the player with more squares.
As a contest, the game has a clear rhythm: fast safe moves early, tense moves later, then a rush of points when long chains of squares open. Math sources describe these chains and why the “best” move is not always the move that closes the most squares right away.
Why a child might “copy” it at a restaurant
Many family restaurants hand out activity sheets, simple coloring pages, and quick games. A dots-and-lines contest is perfect for that: it is quiet, it fits on paper, and it feels like a challenge. A child can also copy a pattern seen on a page, then replay it from memory on a napkin. That is not a sign of dishonesty. It is how practice often looks.
A careful note on personality claims
A single drawing on a napkin cannot support a full psychological profile. A sketch can show attention, mood in that moment, or simple boredom relief, but it does not diagnose character. Reading “deep meaning” into one small picture is easy to do, and easy to get wrong.
Where the word “Timbiriche” comes from
The word “timbiriche” has a life beyond the game name. A major Spanish dictionary records meanings such as a small stand or kiosk, and also lists uses tied to different places, including Cuba (North America) and Puerto Rico (North America). The same dictionary links the word to an Indigenous language of Mexico (North America), pointing to a source form and meaning tied to a cluster or bunch.
That mix makes sense: a dot grid is a cluster, and a street stand is also a “small setup.” Over time, a word like this can travel across objects, places, and games, and end up naming a schoolyard classic.
A tiny Dutch mini-lesson for the same moment
A restaurant table is also a good place for a short language habit.
A simple whole-idea line: this sentence is used to ask politely for a napkin.
Mag ik een servet, alstublieft?
Word by word: Mag = may; ik = I; een = a; servet = napkin; alstublieft = please.
Register and natural variants: alstublieft is polite; alsjeblieft is more casual; in a very quick request, Een servet, alstublieft. can sound direct but still polite with the final word.
Conclusions
A napkin can hold a whole map of learning
A child’s grid of dots and lines can be a game, a memory, and hand practice at once. In early January 2026, the most likely answer is also the simplest: a familiar table game was seen, enjoyed, and replayed. That is not a mystery to solve. It is a skill growing in plain sight.
Selected References
[1] https://www.alsea.net/our-brands/vips.html
[2] https://dle.rae.es/timbiriche
[3] https://mathworld.wolfram.com/DotsandBoxes.html
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dots_and_boxes
[5] https://dictionary.apa.org/imitation
[6] https://www.britannica.com/science/observational-learning
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Rym1a9T3SE
Appendix
Alsea — A food-service company that operates restaurant brands in Latin America, including Vips in Mexico (North America).
Dots and Boxes — A pen-and-paper game where players connect dots with lines and score points by completing squares.
Imitation — Copying an observed action, often automatically, and a basic path for learning new skills.
Observational Learning — Learning by watching others, with or without copying right away, often linked to social learning research.
Pipopipette — A historical name used by Édouard Lucas for the Dots and Boxes game in France (Europe).
Purépecha — An Indigenous language of Mexico (North America) that appears in dictionary notes about the origins of some words used in Mexican Spanish.
Timbiriche — A word used for several everyday things in different places, and also a common name for the Dots and Boxes game in Mexico (North America).
Vips — A family restaurant brand in Mexico (North America), known for sit-down meals and, in many locations, kid-friendly table activities.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 