General Overview

Chinchón is a very popular card game in Spain, Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Cape Verde, and other countries.
In some regions of Spain, it is also known as chinchorro.
In Basque and Cape Verdean Creole it is called Txintxon, while in Uruguay it is known as la conga, and in Peru as golpeado.

According to the most common rules in Argentina, a player must end their turn with fewer than 5 unmatched points in hand.
Chinchón belongs to the Gin Rummy family (the term "chinchón" likely derives from "Gin"), though it is played with a Spanish deck.

Number of Players

From 2 to 4 players.

Goal of the Game

The main goal of the game is to form a Chinchón—a run of seven consecutive cards of the same suit—to win the match immediately.

Alternatively, players can win by eliminating all other opponents through points:
to achieve this, opponents must be forced to exceed 100 points (or whatever maximum score limit was agreed upon).

Deck

Chinchón is normally played with a 40-card Spanish deck, using the Ace of Coins as a wildcard.
However, it can also be played with:

• 48 cards (including eights and nines), or
• 50 cards (adding 2 Jokers/wildcards).

Card Values

Wildcards

• There can be no more than two wildcards capable of substituting for any other card in the deck.
• It is customary to use the Ace of Coins as a wildcard.
• It is crucial to meld the wildcard, as it carries an unmatched penalty value of 25 points.
• No player is allowed to Knock while holding two wildcards in hand.

Valid Combinations

The valid combinations or melds that can be formed are:

⚠️ In the event of making an invalid Chinchón, 50 points are deducted from the player's total score

Gameplay

1. 7 cards are dealt to each player.
2. One card is placed face up next to the deck, forming the discard pile.
3. On their turn, each player can choose to:
   • Draw a card from the stock deck,
   • Take the top card from the discard pile, or
   • Knock to close the hand.
4. After taking one of these actions, the player must discard a card, leaving them with seven cards once again.

Knocking

To close a hand, a player must meld 4, 5, 6, or 7 of their cards, provided that the sum of their remaining unmatched cards does not exceed 5 points.

When a player wishes to go out (which is optional):

• They place their discard face down instead of face up to indicate that the round has ended.
• They must lay down their melds before scoring points.
• All other players tally the point values of their unmatched cards (including the player who closed).

Additional Rules:

• If a player goes out with all cards melded (0 deadwood), they are awarded a -10 point bonus.
• The match ends when all players except one exceed the score limit (usually 100 points).
  • That surviving player is the winner.
• If the player who went out reaches the maximum point threshold and the opponents also exceed it, the player who did not go out wins.
• When going out, a player may hold onto more than one unmatched card, provided their total sum does not exceed 5 points.

Laying Off Cards

At the end of the hand:

• Players reveal their melds in turn order.
• Other players may lay off cards by attaching them to their opponents' existing melds,
  ensuring those cards do not count toward their final deadwood score.

Laying off cards is not allowed if the player went out with -10 points (complete meld).

In some variations, a player is required to have at least one valid meld in hand to be allowed to lay off cards onto others.