Playcard games

Chinchón: questions and answers

Short answers to the questions people ask most about Chinchón. Everything else is in the full rules.

How many cards do you need for Chinchón?
Traditionally a 40- or 48-card Spanish pack; with French cards, a 52-card deck and two jokers, which is what the table here deals. Two to six players, seven cards each, and one card turned up to start the discard pile.
What melds are there in Chinchón?
Sets of three or four cards of the same rank, and runs of three or more in the same suit. Aces are low: A-2-3 is a run, Q-K-A is not. Jokers are wild and can fill a gap in a run or complete a set.
When can you cut in Chinchón?
When the cards left over from your melds add up to 5 or less. You draw, throw your last card, and put your hand face up; everybody else then counts what they are holding. Nothing is laid on the table before that.
What are the cards worth?
Court cards 10, aces 1, number cards their face value, and a joker 25 if you are caught holding it. Points are penalties, so you want as few as possible.
What is a chinchón?
Seven cards in a single run of one suit. Lay it down and you win the whole game at once, whatever the scores. At the table here a joker may be part of the run; many tables insist on seven real cards.
What happens when you cut with nothing left over?
Your own score goes down by 10. It is the only way in the game to take points off yourself, which is why a hand with one small card left over sometimes waits a turn for a clean cut.
What happens when you pass the limit?
You are out — but you may buy back in once, at the worst score still in play. It is not a fresh start, only a seat at the bottom of the table, and a second time over the limit is final.
How long is a game of Chinchón?
Until one player is left under the limit, usually 100; the table here offers 50, 100 or 150. The last player in wins, unless somebody ends it sooner with a chinchón.