Conquian (Cooncan) Rules
Conquian (also known as "Cooncan", "Coon Can", and "Coon-Can") is generally regarded as the earliest form of Rummy (see Rummy History). It features all of the basic features common to all Rummy games. Similar to Panguingue, Conquian has colorful vocabulary (see Conquian Glossary).
Number of Players: 2
The Deck: Traditionally, Conquian is played with a 40-card Spanish deck (a standard 52-card deck with the 8's, 9's, and 10's removed, can be used to form a 40-card deck), with the cards ranked (hi) K-Q-J-7-6-5-4-3-2-A (lo).
Starting a Game: To determine who deals first, the deck is shuffled and cut, and each player draws a card. The player drawing the lowest card deals first.
Dealing: Each player is dealt ten cards. The remaining cards are placed face-down to form the stock. No upcard is turned.
Objective: The object of the game is to be the first to meld eleven cards, including the last card drawn.
Play: The non-dealer (called the "pone") begins by turning over the top card of the stock. He may either meld it immediately, or discard it. If he melds it, he must discard from this hand. A distinctive feature of Conquian (and one that it shares with its close relative Panguingue), is that drawn cards cannot be placed in a player's hand, must be either melded immediately, or discarded. They cannot be taken into the hand.
Thereafter, each player in turn must either take the discard (and meld it immediately, and discard another), or turn over the top of the stock and either meld it or discard it.
A player may extended their existing melds or create new ones. A player may also "borrow" a card from one of his existing melds, as long as the remaining cards form a valid meld.
Forcing: If you decline a faced card that could be added to one of your existing melds, your opponent may insist that you use the card. In so doing, he can force you to discard a card from your hand, probably one you were holding in reserve, in hope of building a new meld.
Ending The Game: The game ends when one player melds his eleventh card. If the stock is exhausted with neither player having gone out, the game ends in a draw, and the stakes of the game are carried forward, to be claimed by whoever wins next.