Conquián

How to play Conquián

Conquián is the Mexican grandfather of every rummy game — the oldest known game of its kind, the one Gin Rummy and Canasta are descended from. It is sharp, fast and unusual: you build melds straight onto the table and the first player to lay down eleven cards wins. It is played here head-to-head against a bot, or online against another person in real time.

Play Conquián online with a friend

Choose to play online and you'll be matched with a real opponent, or share a private invite link to play with a friend in the browser — no account and no app needed. The server deals the cards, enforces the rules and keeps both players in sync in real time.

The deck

A 40-card deck — the eights, nines and tens are removed, so each suit runs A 2 3 4 5 6 7 J Q K. That means the jack follows the seven: a run can read 5-6-7-J-Q. The ace is always low.

Goal

Be the first to have eleven cards melded on your side of the table. A meld is a set (three or four cards of the same rank) or a sequence (three or more cards of the same suit in a row). Win a game and you score a point; first to 3 games takes the match.

Your turn

• Draw the top card of the stock — or take the top of the discard pile. The Conquián rule: you may only take the discard if you can meld it immediately.
• Lay new melds and add cards to the melds already in front of you.
• Discard one card to end your turn (the card you throw becomes available to your opponent).

The draw

If the stock runs out before anyone reaches eleven, the game is a draw — no one scores, and a fresh game is dealt. That makes every card count: a wasted draw can hand the game to no one.

Strategy

Eleven is exactly four-plus-four-plus-three, or three-plus-three-plus-five — plan which melds will get you there before the stock thins out. Hold cards that can grow in two directions (a 6 of spades pairs with the 5-7 run and the other sixes), and don't break a near-complete sequence for a quick set. Watch what your opponent discards: a card they throw is one they can't use, and a card you need may be sitting on top of the pile — but remember you can only take it to lay it down at once. Tap the stock or discard to draw, select cards and press Lay, tap a meld to lay a card off, and N starts a new game.