Conquian Card Game: Rules for the 40 Card Ancestor of Rummy

Conquian matters because it came first. Pagat.com says the earliest known reference is from Mexico City in 1857, and that the game then spread into English speaking North America, where it gave rise to the whole family of western rummy games. Bicycle calls it the original type of rummy played in the United States. Play it once and you'll spot gin, 500 Rum and Tonk hiding inside it.

The 40 card deck and how sequences run

The Spanish deck has four suits, cups, coins, swords and batons, with cards 1 to 7 plus the sota (jack), caballo (horseman) and rey (king). If you're using an ordinary deck, take out the 8s, 9s and 10s and any jokers. That leaves 40 cards.

Because the 8, 9 and 10 are missing, the 7 sits right next to the jack. So 6, 7, jack is a run. The ace is always low, so ace, 2, 3 is fine, but queen, king, ace isn't.

Detail	Mexican conquian	Anglo American conquian
Players	2 or 3	2
Deck	40 card Spanish deck	52 card deck without 8s, 9s and 10s
Cards dealt	8 each (9 each with two players)	10 each
Cards melded to win	9 (10 with two players)	11
Card exchange at the start	Yes, one card passed face down	No
Direction of play	Anticlockwise	Players alternate

Exchanging a card before the first turn

In the Mexican game, after you look at your cards, everyone picks one unwanted card and passes it face down to the player on their right. Pagat.com calls this the cambio. You put your card down before you look at the one coming to you, so there's no peeking and swapping your mind.

How a turn of conquian works

1. The player to the dealer's right turns over the top card of the stock.
2. They either meld it straight away with at least two cards from their hand, or pass and leave it for the next player.
3. If they meld, they discard one card face up. That discard is offered to the next player.
4. On every later turn, you either meld the card that's waiting in the centre, or reject it and turn up a new card from the stock.
5. If you turn a new card, you can meld it or leave it face up for the next player.
6. You can rearrange your own melds on the table at any time you meld, as long as everything stays valid.

The rule that makes conquian different: no card goes into your hand

This is what catches every rummy player out. In conquian you can never take the centre card into your hand to use later. You either use it in a meld on the table right now, or you leave it. Pagat.com is clear on two more points: you can't lay cards off on another player's melds, and you can only put down cards from your hand at the same moment you meld the centre card.

So you aren't building a hand and laying it down in one go, like gin. You're building on the table in public, a card at a time, and everyone can see exactly what you're waiting for.

Forcing: making an opponent take a card

Here's where conquian gets sharp. If the centre card fits onto an opponent's melds without them needing any cards from their hand, you can force them to take it. They must meld it, then discard a card from their hand.

Pagat.com gives a lovely example. You're one ace away from going out, holding two aces. Your opponent forces a king onto your sequence. Now you have to discard one of your aces, and your winning hand falls apart. Bicycle adds a related rule for the two player game: if you could add the discard to one of your own melds, your opponent can require you to do it.

Going out, the ninth card and a drawn hand

You win by melding the centre card plus every card left in your hand, so your table shows the full 9 cards (in the Mexican 8 card deal). Melding 8 and discarding your last card doesn't win. Pagat.com explains you then keep playing until a centre card arrives that you can add as your ninth.

If the stock runs out before anyone goes out, the hand is a draw, called tablas in Spanish, and many players count the next hand double. Bicycle's version is the same idea with 10 cards dealt: you need exactly 11 melded cards, and a stock that runs dry makes the next game count double.

Other names and versions

• Tercerilla: a Spanish name some players use for the three player game.
• Anglo American conquian: the two player version written down for American players, with 10 cards each and 11 to go out.
• Yuca: a few players make the two of coins wild.
• Paco: a big Mexican relative played with five Spanish packs (200 cards) by up to 12 players.
• Navajo Tens: a two deck variant pagat.com describes, known in Navajo as Neeznáá Dah Yíjihí.

My advice for your first game of conquian

Conquian is a gem for two people who already enjoy gin rummy and want something with more nerve in it. Start with an ordinary deck minus the 8s, 9s and 10s, deal 10 each, and play to 11 melded cards, because that's the version most rule books describe. Write "7 next to J" on a scrap of paper until it sticks. The mistake to avoid is laying down a long run early. Every extra card on the table is a target your opponent can force cards onto. For more games to try as a pair, my list of two player card games is a good place to keep going.

If you want the full set, start at the Free Games to Play Offline and Online: Every Guide in One Place (2026).

Frequently asked questions

How many cards are in a conquian deck?

Conquian uses 40 cards: the Spanish deck, or a standard 52 card deck with the 8s, 9s and 10s removed.

How many cards do you need to go out in conquian?

In the modern Mexican game you're dealt 8 and need 9 melded to go out. In the two player Anglo American game you're dealt 10 and need 11.

Can you pick up the discard in conquian?

Only to meld it straight away. You can never take the centre card into your hand to use later.

Is conquian the original rummy?

Pagat.com says conquian gave rise to the whole family of western rummy games, and Bicycle calls it the original type of rummy played in the United States.

What does forcing mean in conquian?

If the centre card fits an opponent's melds without any cards from their hand, you can make them meld it, which forces them to discard a card they wanted.