Conquian
Introduction
Conquian is a Mexican card game for two or three players. The first known reference to it is from Mexico City in 1857. In the following decades it spread to North America where it gave rise to the whole family of western Rummy games.
In Mexico it is usually played with the standard Spanish suited 40-card pack with suits of cups, coins, swords and batons. In North America it was adapted to be played with a standard Anglo-American 52-card pack from which the 8's, 9's and 10's were removed.
On this page we first describe the modern Mexican game, then the two-player variant played in North America, and finally a double deck variant known as Navajo Tens, or in the Navajo language as Neeznáá Dah Yíjihí.
This page is based on contributions from Elías Urizábel, David Kuznick, Enrique Acevedo, Clark Williams, Paul Eaton and Alexey Lobashev.
Mexican Conquian
Players, Cards and Deal
There can be two to three players, some people call the 3-player game tercerilla in Spanish.
The Spanish 40 card deck is used. It consists of the cards 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-10 (sota {jack}) -11 (caballo {horseman}) -12 (rey {king}) in the suits swords (espadas), clubs (bastos), cups (copas) and coins (oros).
Deal and play are anticlockwise. The first dealer is chosen by any convenient random method. Thereafter the turn to deal passes to the right after each hand.
The dealer deals 8 cards to each player, one at a time. The remainder of the cards are placed face down on the table to form a stock pile from which cards will be drawn during the game.
Objective and Meld
The objective is to be the first to "go out" by melding 9 cards. Cards are melded by placing them face up on the table in front of the owner to form valid combinations. The combinations allowed are:
- a set (or group) of three or four cards of the same rank. A tercia is a set of 3 equal cards such as baton-7, cup-7, sword-7. A cuarteto is a 4-card group, such as cups-4, clubs-4, swords-4, coins-4.
- a sequence (or run) of at least three cards of the same suit in consecutive order, such as club-4, club-5, club-6. This is known In Spanish as an escalera. Note in this game the ace (1) is always low (next to the 2) and the 7 is next to the jack (10), so that 1-2-3 and 6-7-10 are valid sequences but 11-12-1 is not.
At all times, the meld you have on the table must consist of one or more separate valid combinations. Cards can be moved from one of your combinations to another as needed but no card can ever be part of more than one combination at the same time.
The Play
The Exchange
Each player looks at their hand, selects one unwanted card and passes it face down to the player to their right, who picks it up and adds it to their hand. This is known in Spanish as the cambio (exchange). All players pass their card simultaneously: each player must decide which card to pass and place it face down on the table before looking at the card they receive from the player to their left.
The First Turn
The player to dealer's right turns the top card of the stock face up, and has two options:
- To take this face up card and meld it along with cards from hand. At least two hand cards will be needed to make up a valid combination along with the turned-up card, and further cards from hand can be laid down at the same time if desired provided that the player's meld or melds remain valid. Unless they have melded all nine of their cards, the player must end their turn by discarding one unwanted card face up from hand.
- To pass, not melding any cards and leaving the turned-up card to be used by the next player.
If the player to dealer's right passes, the player to dealer's left has the same two options. If the player to dealer's left also passes, the dealer's options are:
- To take the face up card, meld it along with cards from hand and discard one unwanted card.
- To reject this first face up card and turn over a new card from the stock. In this case the dealer either:
- picks up this new card, melds it with cards from hand and discards an unwanted card (unless they have melded all 9) face up on top of the initial rejected card, or
- does not use this new card but places it face up on top of the first rejected card to be used by the next player (to dealer's right).
Subsequent Turns
The next turn is taken by the player to the right of the player who melded the initial face up card, or by the player to the right of the dealer if all three players rejected the initial face up card and the dealer then either melded or rejected the next card. The play continues anticlockwise until either a player goes out by melding all 9 cards or the stock pile is exhausted.
At the start of a player's turn they will always have 8 cards, some of which may be in melds on the table, and there will be a face up discard pile, the top card of which will either be the card discarded by the previous player or the card turned up and rejected by the previous player. The player has the following options:
- To take the top card of the discard pile and add it to their melds on the table, for which purpose the player may also put on the table any number of cards from their hand, rearranging their melds if necessary so that they are all valid. If they manage to meld all 9 of their cards the play ends. Otherwise this the player discards one unwanted card on top of the discard pile and it is the next player's turn.
- To reject the top card of the discard pile and turn up a new card from the stock. In this case the player may either take that new card and meld it as above or reject it as well, in which case the turn passes to the next player.
Forcing
In addition to the above possibilities there are two ways in which a player may be forced to meld a card.
- During a player's turn, if the face up centre card - either the card left by the previous player or a new card turned over by the current player - can be added to the current player's meld on the table without requiring any extra cards from the player's hand, either of the opponents can force the current player to meld that card.
- If the centre card - either the card left by the previous player or a new card turned over by the current player - can be added to an opponent's meld on the table without requiring any extra cards from that opponent's hand, the current player can give the face up player to that opponent and require them to meld it. Having melded, the recipient of the card discards a card from their hand onto the discard pile and the play continues anticlockwise from that point.
Notes on Play
Forcing can be a powerful technique for destroying a player's position. Suppose that you have on the table a set of 3's (clubs-swords-cups) and a sequence of cups (7-10-11) and in your hand two aces (coins-swords). All you need to win is another ace, but if the 12 of cups is turned up or discarded an opponent can force you to meld it, adding it to your cup sequence. You then have no option but to discard one of your aces, and the only way you can now win is to acquire the 5 and 6 of cups. If either of these is already out of the game, it has become impossible for you to win.
When melding, you can rearrange your table cards in any way you wish, provided that the cards you have on the table at the end of your turn form separate valid combinations. For example, if you have a sequence 3-4-5-6 of clubs on the table, the 6 of cups in your hand, and you turn up the 6 of coins, you can meld three sixes, taking the six from your club sequence, leaving a valid sequence 3-4-5. The operation is called corte (cutout) is Spanish. However if a four had turned up and you had a four in your hand, you would not be able to meld fours, because stealing the 4 of clubs would not leave a valid sequence.
Please note that:
- It is never possible to take the centre card (turned up from the stock or discarded or rejected by your opponent) into your hand for later use.
- The melds of the three players are entirely separate - you are never allowed to get rid of cards by "laying them off" on other players' melds.
- You can only meld combinations from your hand when taking the centre card and incorporating it in your melds. You cannot meld hand cards at any other time.
End of the Game
Play continues in this way until either someone goes out or the stock runs out.
You go out by melding the face up card from the center of the table (whether discarded or rejected by your left hand opponent or newly turned up by you) along with all the remaining cards in your hand (if any). Your meld on the table will then consist of nine cards. In this case you have won and your opponents each pay you a fixed stake.
If there are no cards remaining in the stock and you do not use the card your opponent discarded or rejected, you are unable to turn up a new card because there are none left. In this case the game is a draw, and some play that the next game is played for a double stake. In Spanish, this kind of draw is known as tablas.
Note that melding 8 cards and discarding your last card does not win the game or end the play. If you do this, you must continue playing until you get a ninth card which you can add to your meld. This ninth card would have to be a centre card either discarded or passed on to you by the previous player or a card turned up by you after rejecting that card.
Two-player Game
Conquian can be played by just two players. The rules are essentially the same as above: deal 9 cards each, each player passes a card to their opponent, non-dealer turns up the top card of the stock and either melds it with cards from their hand or passes it on to their opponent, who draws from the stock if they cannot use it either. Play continues as above until a player wins by melding all their cards or there is a draw because the stock runs out.
Variations
In the three-player game, many people play that throughout the game the top card of the discard pile can be used by either opponent of the player who discarded it or who turned and rejected it, not just by the player whose turn it is to play next. The player in turn has the first right to take the card if able to meld it. If this player rejects this card and goes to the stock to draw another card the third player may grab the discard saying "me sirve" (I can use it), take the card, meld it and discard another card just as usual. You must be quick in this variation, because if you want a card but another player puts another discarded card on top of it you lose the opportunity to use that card.
Some people do not deal the cards singly but in packets of 4, or a packet of 3 each followed by a packet of 5 each.
Some play that the winner of each deal is the first player in the next. So the new dealer is the player to the left of the winner (or the opponent of the winner if there are only two players).
Conquian is sometimes played with a French suited (international) deck. In this case the 8's 9's, 10's and jokers are thrown out to make the required 40-card deck. Aces are still low and the 7 is adjacent to the Jack, so when making sequences A-2-3 and 6-7-J are legal but Q-K-A is not allowed.
Some play Conquian with larger hands of 9 or 10 cards each instead of 8. If the players are dealt 9 cards each a player needs to meld 10 cards to win; if 10 cards each are dealt, 11 cards in melds are needed to win.
A few people use the two of coins as a wild card (called yuca in Spanish). In this version the yuca can be used as a substitute for any card needed in a meld.
Conquian is sometimes played with a full international pack of 52 cards, with the 8, 9 and 10 coming between the 7 and the Jack. This is however very unusual. Most players play only with the traditional 40-card Spanish deck, especially in the centre and south of Mexico, or with 40 cards of an international deck if playing with French suits.
A few people play that a player at their turn can take the centre face up card and keep it in their hand for later use without melding and discard a different card, but with this rule they are really no longer playing Conquian but some other kind of Rummy.
North American Conquian
Conquian reached Texas by the 1860's and by the end of the century had become popular there and in other states bordering Mexico. This is according to R.F. Foster who published what he claimed to be the first complete description of the game in his 'Complete Hoyle' of 1897. There are several differences from the modern Mexican game:
- The game is for two players only. Foster says that if there are three players at the table, one should sit out while the other two play.
- 10 cards are dealt to each player and a thus a player needs to meld 11 cards to go out. This makes it impossible to go out with a single complete suit, which Foster considers makes the game more interesting.
- It is played with French suited cards, normally a standard 52-card pack from which the 8's, 9's and 10's have been removed. Foster says that it is also common to play with only the 40 numeral cards A to 10, throwing out the picture cards, making the sequences easier to recognise (e.g. 7-8-9 rather than 7-J-Q) but this practice seems not to have continued and later North American descriptions do not mention it.
- There is no passing of cards between players at the start of the game: it is played with the hands as originally dealt.
Unfortunately we have no description of the version of the game played in Mexico in the 19th century. It was certainly played with Spanish-suited cards but apart from that it is unclear which of these differences were introduced in North America and which are due to subsequent evolution of the Mexican game.
The following description is of a version that Clark Williams tells me is played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Players, Cards and Deal
There are two players.
The deck consists of the cards A-2-3-4-5-6-7-J-Q-K in the usual suits hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades. It can be made by throwing the 8s, 9s, and 10s out of a standard 52 card pack.
The first dealer is chosen by any convenient random method. Thereafter the players take turns to deal.
The dealer deals ten cards to each player, one at a time. The remainder of the cards are placed face down on the table to form a stock. No cards are passed between players at the start of the game.
Objective and Meld
The objective is to be the first to "go out" by melding 11 cards. Melding is placing a valid combination of cards face up on the table in front of you. These face up cards are your meld. The combinations allowed are:
- a group or short of three or four cards of the same rank, such as
7, 
7, 
7.
- a sequence or straight of from three to eight cards of the same suit in consecutive order, such as
4, 5, 6. Note that in this game the ace is always low and the 7 is next to the jack. So when making sequences A-2-3 and 6-7-J are legal but Q-K-A is not allowed.
At all times, the meld you have on the table must consist one or more separate valid combinations. A card can never be part of more than one combination at the same time.
Note that a sequence cannot contain more than eight cards. This maximum length is set because you have to meld exactly eleven cards to win. For this you must have at least two combinations. If one of them has the minimum size of three cards, the other cannot have more than eight.
The Play
The non-dealer begins the play by turning the top card of the stock face up, and has two options:
- To meld this card along with cards from hand. At least two hand cards will be needed to make up a valid combination along with the turned up card, and further cards from hand can be laid down at the same time if desired, provided that the meld is valid. Having melded, the non-dealer must discard one card face up from hand, which may be used by the dealer.
- To pass, not melding any cards and leaving the turned up card to be used by the dealer.
It is then the dealer's turn to play.
The turn to play alternates. Apart from the non-dealer's first turn, you always begin your turn with the opportunity to use the card discarded by your opponent or the card which your opponent turned up and did not use. Your options are:
- To use this card as part of your meld on the table, for which purpose you may also put down on the table any number of cards from your hand. You then discard one card from your hand, reducing the number of cards in your hand plus those in your meld to ten. Your discard is placed pace up in the centre of the table and it is your opponent's turn.
- To reject the card, placing it in a face down waste pile. If you reject the card, you then turn up the next card from the top of the stock. In this case you again have two options:
- To use this newly turned up card as part of your meld on the table, for which purpose you may also put down on the table any number of cards from your hand. You then discard one card face up in its place and it is your opponent's turn.
- To pass, not melding any cards and leaving the turned up card to be used by your opponent.
When melding, you can rearrange your table cards in any way you wish, as long as the cards you have on the table at the end of your turn form separate valid combinations. For example, if you have a meld of 3-4-5-6 on the table, 6 in your hand, and you turn up 6, you can meld three sixes, taking the six from your club sequence, leaving a valid sequence 3-4-5. If a four had turned up and you had a four in your hand, you would not be able to meld fours, because stealing the 4 would not leave a valid sequence.
There is one further important rule. If during your turn the face-up centre card can be added to the meld that you already have on the table, without using extra cards from your hand, your opponent can force you to meld the centre card, and you cannot refuse. This can be a powerful technique for destroying a player's position. Suppose that you have 3-3-3-3 6-7-J-Q on the table and A-A in your hand. All you need to win is an ace, but you opponent might discard the K and force you to meld it. You then have no option but to discard one of your aces, and the only way you can now win is to acquire the 5 and 4. If either of these is already out of the game, it has become impossible for you to win.
When forcing a card on a player you are allowed to rearrange the player's melds to incorporate that card - for example stealing a card from the end of a run to include it in a set - provided all the combinations on the table at the end of the move remain valid.
Please note that
- It is never possible to take the centre card (turned up from the stock or discarded or rejected by your opponent) into your hand for later use.
- The melds of the two players are entirely separate - you are never allowed to get rid of cards by "laying them off" on the other player's melds.
- You can meld combinations from your hand, but only at the same time that you take the centre card and use it in your meld. You cannot meld hand cards at any other time.
End of the Game
Play continues in this way until either someone goes out or the stock runs out.
You go out by melding the face up card from the centre of the table (whether discarded or rejected by your opponent or newly turned up by you) along with all the remaining cards in your hand (if any). Your meld on the table will then consist of eleven cards. In this case you have won and your opponent pays you a fixed stake.
If there are no cards remaining in the stock and you do not use the card your opponent discarded or rejected, you are unable to turn up a new card because there are none left. In this case the game is a draw, and some play that the next game is played for a double stake.
Note that although you may meld ten cards and discard your last card, this does not win the game or end the play. If you do this you have to continue playing until you get an eleventh card which you can add to your meld. This eleventh card would have to be either discarded or passed to you by your opponent or turned up by you after rejecting the card from your opponent.
Tactics
Clark Williams has provided the following advice:
All cards must be played on the table. This is often a very intense money game and strict attention to prevent the appearance of cheating is very important
Defensive Play. If you are dealt a hand with more than 5 or 6 cards which cannot be included in any series or grouping, it is possible to simply fold your hand and let the opponent attempt to play alone by continuing to draw and discard. The effect is equivalent to always rejecting the face-up card that is passed to you. The likelihood is that you possess the cards your opponent would need to win, in which case the hand will be tied. In such a case, you can only lose by playing and indeed, may win the next hand. There are times when five or six hands in a row may be tied in such a manner.
Offensive Play. Players with an excellent memory often count cards - they keep track of all cards played by both players and predict those needed to complete the opponent's hand, deliberately playing a grouping which reduces the opponent's chances of winning. In any case, it is vital to keep track of the cards played, to some extent. The better this is done, the higher the probability of winning. Usually, winning or losing eventually depends on the fall of one or two cards, in the end.
In play, you must be careful to avoid the dreaded Ten Card Hole. In the highly improbable event that you may be able to collect all the Clubs, for instance, it would be impossible to win, because there are only ten cards in any suit.
Navajo Tens
This game is described in a the YouTube video How to Play Navajo Tens. In the Navajo language it is called Neeznáá Dah Yíjihí or sometimes Da'aka', which is just the general Navajo word for any card game.
A double deck is used - two identical 52-card decks mixed together with all 8's, 9's and 10's removed leaving 80 cards. The video shows a game between three players. It is stated that it can be played by any number of people from 2 to 7, but with more than 4 players it probably becomes somewhat unwieldy. The direction of play is clockwise.
10 cards are dealt to each player and 11 cards must be melded to win. No cards are passed at the start of the game.
As usual the valid combinations are runs of consecutive cards in a suit and sets of equal cards. The cards in a set must all be of different suits so the maximum number of cards in a set is four.
The play mechanism is the same as in Mexican Conquian, except that if the player in turn cannot use the face up card discarded or passed on by the previous player, any other player who can use it to form a combination can take it and meld it together with other cards from their hand or the table. When a player takes a card out of turn, the turns of the players in between the one who discarded or rejected the card and the one who took it are skipped. If more than one player can use the same card the player in turn or the earliest in clockwise order from that player has priority.
As in all versions of Conquian, a card can only be taken from the stock or discard pile if it can immediately be melded - a card cannot be taken and kept in hand for later use. Only one card at a time is available for use - the card that was most recently drawn or discarded. As soon as a new card is drawn or discarded that previous card is out of play.
The player who melds a card must then discard, so that each player at the end of their turn always has a total of 10 cards, some of which may be in their hand and some on the table. This continues until a player wins the game by melding an 11th card, leaving no discard, or until the stock runs out.
Other Web Pages and Apps
Rummy-games.com also has rules of two-player Conquian as well as the full text of R.F. Foster's book Cooncan (Conquian) A Game of Cards also called "Rum" (1913) which describes a form of basic Rummy with one or two 52-card packs for 3-5 players but gives Conquian with 40 cards as the recommended game for 2 players.
You can play 2-player Mexican Conquian against a live or AI opponent using Alex Garcia's Conquian 333 Android app.