Conquián: the Mexican game behind rummy
Conquián (often spelled Coon Can in old English rule books) is a two-player melding game from Mexico, and card historians usually treat it as the ancestor of the whole rummy family, gin rummy included. If you have ever played rummy, you will recognize the runs and sets. What you will not recognize is the twist: in Conquián you never draw cards into your hand. Here you can play the Conquián card game online with friends or bots, free, in the browser, with no sign-up.
The same room also plays Chinchón, the Spanish rummy that is hugely popular in Argentina and Uruguay. The host picks the mode in the lobby.
The Spanish deck and the melds
Both games use the Spanish deck of 40 cards: four suits (oros = coins, copas = cups, espadas = swords, bastos = clubs), ranks 1–7 plus sota (10), caballo (11) and rey (12). There are no 8s or 9s, unless you choose the 48-card deck in Chinchón.
- Run (corrida or escalera): three or more consecutive cards of one suit. In the 40-card deck the 7 is followed by the sota, so 6-7-sota is a run. Aces are low only: rey-1-2 does not wrap.
- Set (tercia or grupo): three or four cards of the same rank.
How to play Conquián
| Rule | Conquián |
|---|---|
| Players | 2 or 3 |
| Deck | 40 cards |
| Deal | 10 cards each (8 with three players) |
| Win a round | Have 11 cards melded on the table (9 with three) |
| Stock runs out | The round is a draw |
| Match | First to 1, 3 or 5 round wins (default 3) |
There is always exactly one face-up card in the middle. On your turn you choose:
- Take it, but only if you meld it right away: with cards from your hand, by adding it to your own melds, or by rearranging your melds on the table. Then discard one card from your hand. That card is offered face up to the next player.
- Pass. If you pass the card you just turned from the stock yourself, it is offered to the next player. If you pass someone else's card (their discard or a card they passed), it goes dead and you turn a new card from the stock.
You win the round the moment you have 11 cards melded (9 with three players); the final card goes down without a discard. If the stock is exhausted first, the round is a draw. With three players the dead cards are reshuffled into a new stock once, so rounds do not stall.
A two-player match to three round wins takes about fifteen to twenty minutes, and you can switch the turn timer off when playing with kids or grandparents who like to think.
Chinchón card game: the second mode
Chinchón plays like classic rummy: you do draw. It takes 2 to 4 players, a 40- or 48-card deck and 7 cards each, with one card starting the discard pile.
- Draw from the stock or take the top discard, then discard one card.
- After discarding you may close the round if your unmatched cards total 5 points or less.
- Unmatched cards score their face value (1–9) and court cards score 10. Closing with nothing unmatched scores −10.
- Seven consecutive cards of one suit is a chinchón and wins the whole match instantly.
- Go over the limit (100 or 50, the host picks) and you are out; the last player standing wins.
- No jokers and no laying off onto other players' melds. If nobody closes for a very long time, the round is replayed with no points.
Conquián vs Chinchón
| Conquián | Chinchón | |
|---|---|---|
| Home | Mexico | Spain, Argentina, Uruguay |
| Players | 2–3 | 2–4 |
| Draw into your hand? | Never: you take a card only to meld it | Yes: stock or discard |
| How you win | Meld 11 cards (9 with three) | Stay under the point limit |
Play with friends or bots
Create a room from the game card and send the link, or read out the four-character code. Friends join from any browser with a nickname. Hands are private: others only see how many cards you hold and what you have melded.
- Host settings: mode, round wins or point limit, deck (40/48, Chinchón only), turn timer (off, 30 or 60 seconds) and bot level.
- Bots: Principiante for learning, Experto for a real fight. The Experto is careful about what it discards.
- Hint button: shows which hand cards meld with the face-up card or, in Chinchón, which discard lets you close.
- Friendly extras: a How to play panel on your first visit, reconnect after a dropped connection, and a rematch button.
Like the Spanish deck? Try a one-on-one duel of Truco or a relaxed round of dominoes next.