Chinchón

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Melds
4. Setup
5. Playing a turn
6. Closing
7. Chinchón
8. After a player closes
9. Scoring
10. Winning the game
11. Tips for beginners
12. Variants

Overview

Chinchón is the favourite rummy game of Spain, Argentina and Uruguay. Everyone holds just seven cards and tries to arrange them into sets and runs. When your hand is (almost) complete, you close the hand; everyone then counts the unmatched cards they are still holding as penalty points. Go over 100 and you are out – the last player left in wins. And if you ever hold a run of all seven cards in one suit – a chinchón – you win the whole game on the spot.

• Players: 2–8, each playing for themselves. Up to 4 play with one deck, 5–8 with two.
• You need: one standard 52-card deck (two for 5 or more players), and paper and pencil for scoring.

The cards

Take out all 8s, 9s and 10s and the jokers. You play with 40 cards. In order from lowest to highest:

A 2 3 4 5 6 7 J Q K

Because the 8s, 9s and 10s are missing, the 7 and the Jack are next to each other: 6♥ 7♥ J♥ is a run. The Ace is always the lowest card and the King always the highest – K-A-2 is not a run.

Each card has a point value, which counts against you if it is left unmatched:

Melds

A meld is a group of at least three cards that belong together:

• Set: 3 or 4 cards of the same rank in different suits, e.g. Q♠ Q♥ Q♣.
• Run: 3 or more cards of the same suit in order, e.g. 5♦ 6♦ 7♦ J♦.

A card can belong to only one meld at a time.

Setup

1. Direction: in Spain, dealing and play go to the right (anticlockwise).
2. Dealer: choose the first dealer at random. After each hand, the deal passes to the right.
3. Deal: the dealer shuffles and deals 7 cards face down to each player, one at a time. This is your hand – keep it hidden.
4. Discard pile: the next card is turned face up in the middle to start the discard pile. The rest goes face down beside it as the stock (draw pile).

Playing a turn

The player to the dealer's right starts. On your turn:

1. Draw one card: the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile. You now hold 8 cards.
2. Discard one card face up onto the discard pile, so you are back to 7 cards – or close (see below).

Unlike most rummy games, nobody lays cards on the table during play: all your melds stay in your hand until someone closes.

If the stock runs out, leave the top card of the discard pile face up, shuffle the rest of the pile and use it as a new stock.

Closing

Instead of discarding normally, you may close the hand. Put your eighth card face down on the discard pile – its value doesn't count – and lay your seven cards face up, sorted into melds. You may close only if one of these is true:

• All seven cards are matched – a set or run of 4 plus one of 3, or one run of 7.
• Six cards are matched (two melds of 3, or a run of 6) and the seventh card is worth 4 or less (A, 2, 3 or 4).

Nobody may close during the first round of a hand: every player must have had at least one turn.

Example: Anna draws and now holds Q♥ Q♠ Q♣, 5♦ 6♦ 7♦, 3♥ and K♠. She puts the K♠ face down on the discard pile and shows her two melds and the 3♥. She has closed with 3 points.

Chinchón

A chinchón is a run of all seven cards in one suit, e.g. A♣ 2♣ 3♣ 4♣ 5♣ 6♣ 7♣ or 4♥ 5♥ 6♥ 7♥ J♥ Q♥ K♥. If you close with a chinchón, you win the game immediately, whatever the scores.

After a player closes

Going round from the closer, each other player lays their melds face up. Then they may lay off unmatched cards: add them to melds already on the table – the closer's or those shown by other players – as long as the meld stays correct. To the closer's 5♦ 6♦ 7♦ you could add the 4♦ or the J♦.

If the closer matched all seven cards, nobody may lay off on the closer's melds.

Scoring

Every player adds up the cards they could neither meld nor lay off and writes that down as penalty points.

• The closer scores the value of their unmatched card, or −10 (subtract 10 from their total) if all seven cards were matched.
• A chinchón ends the game at once.

Example: After Anna closes with 3♥, Ben shows 5♣ 5♥ 5♠ and lays off his 4♦ on Anna's run. Left in his hand: K♦ 2♥ A♥ = 10 + 2 + 1 = 13. Carla has no meld at all and scores all her cards: 2♠ 3♣ 6♥ 7♣ J♠ K♥ K♣ = 46. Anna scores 3.

Winning the game

Keep a running total for each player. As soon as your total goes over 100, you are out.

Re-entry: a player who is out may buy back in (Spanish reenganche) and continue with the same score as the highest total of the players still in. Re-entry is not allowed once only two players are left. Agree before you start how often each player may re-enter – many tables allow it only once.

The last player left in wins – or whoever closes with a chinchón. If all the other players go over 100 in the same hand, the remaining player wins at once.

Tips for beginners

• Go for low cards. Aces, 2s and 3s are cheap to hold and good to close with.
• Don't hoard Kings and Queens. An unmatched King costs 10 points if someone closes before you.
• Close early when you can. Waiting for −10 or a chinchón is tempting, but every turn gives the others a chance to close first.
• Watch what others pick up from the discard pile – and don't discard the card they need.

Variants

All optional – agree before playing.

• Jokers: add the two jokers as wild cards, which can stand for any card. Each meld needs at least two real cards. A seven-card run with a joker is no chinchón and doesn't win the game: closing with it scores −50 with one joker and −25 with two. Some tables use the A♦ as the only wild card instead.
• Five points: according to the Spanish card maker Fournier, you may close whenever your unmatched cards total 5 or less.
• Shorter game: play to 70 instead of 100.
• 48 cards: keep the 8s and 9s and take out only the 10s. The J, Q and K then count 10, 11 and 12.
• Two decks for 5–8 players: shuffle two 40-card packs together.