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Games of the World › Mexico

Play the games of Mexico

The Spanish deck

Conquián is played with the 40-card Spanish deck sold all over Mexico: four suits, numbered 1 to 7 and 10 to 12. There are no 8s or 9s, so in a run the 7 is followed by the 10.

The rules of Conquián

1. Two players get nine cards each. Before play, each passes one unwanted card face down to the other.
2. There is only ever one face-up card in the middle. Melds are three or four of a kind, or three or more cards in a row in one suit.
3. On your turn, take the middle card only if you can meld it at once, with cards from your hand or on your own melds. Then discard a card, which becomes the new middle card.
4. If you pass a card your opponent gave you, it goes out and you turn up the next card from the stock. Pass that one too and your turn ends.
5. You may rearrange your own melds whenever you take a card. You can never add to your opponent’s melds.
6. A card that fits a player’s melds can be forced on them: they meld it and discard.
7. The first to lay down ten cards (all nine in hand plus the one taken) wins. If the stock runs out first, the game is a draw, tablas, and the next game counts double.

The full Conquián rules cover the deck, the variations and some strategy.

Spanish words at the table

Sota (10)

The page, the lowest picture card.

Caballo (11)

The knight on horseback.

Rey (12)

The king, the highest card.

Tablas (draw)

A game where the stock runs out before anyone goes out.

Me sirve (I can use it)

What a player says when claiming a card in the three-player game.

Mula (double)

A domino with the same number on both ends.

Questions