How to play KonKan

Welcome to KonKan!

KonKan is a tile-based strategy game played in teams of two. It blends luck with deep strategy and is widely played across Iraq and Kurdistan. This tutorial covers the Erbil edition (81-point opening), the most common format.

Game at a glance

Two teams of two play across seven rounds — plus one final round if scores are tied or a comeback is required. Each turn cycles counter-clockwise. Score is tallied by penalty points “robbed” from the losing side.

The home screen shows a row of play modes. Each has its own pace, ruleset and stat tracking.

Quick Play

The fastest way into a game. Standard 81-point opening, 2v2 teams — but rounds are capped at 5 instead of 7 so a full match wraps up quickly.

• 5 rounds total (vs 7 in Ranked)
• Standard 81-point opening minimum
• 30s throw / 15s draw timers
• Doesn't affect your global rank

Ranked

The competitive ladder. Wins, losses and points feed your global rank. Always 4 players (2v2) — the matchmaker won't start an unbalanced ranked game.

• 7 rounds total
• Strict 4-player matchmaking
• Tracks rank, points, win streak
• First 5 games: placement matches
• Standard 81-point opening minimum

Sulaymaniyah Classic

The Slemani regional variant. The big difference: you can finish on a 10-tile run plus 4 locked tiles in your hand — a special “KonKan-10” finish that doesn't exist in standard KonKan.

• Special finish: 10-tile run + 4 locks
• Maximum 4 locked tiles per round
• +400 bonus on a Sulaymaniyah finish
• 100-point unopened penalty
• Stats don't feed your global rank

Turbo

A short, snappy variant. Lower opening minimum, tighter timers, fewer rounds — perfect for one quick game between sessions.

• 3 rounds total (vs 7 in Ranked)
• Lower 61-point opening minimum
• 25s throw / 10s draw timers
• Counts toward Turbo achievements

Tournament

Time-bound competitive events with prize pools. When a tournament is live, the card moves to the front of the play menu and shows the top prize.

• Standard 7 rounds, 81-point opening
• Limited entry windows
• Team-based bracket play
• Prize pool announced per event

Kirkuk Classic

The Kirkuk regional variant — coming soon. The card will appear unlocked once the rule set is ready.

• Regional variant — Kirkuk edition
• Tap is disabled until release
• Ruleset announced at launch

Private Room

Create a private table and invite friends. You pick the rules — Standard or Sulaymaniyah — then send invites. Great for casual practice.

• Choose ruleset: Standard or Sulaymaniyah
• Invite up to 3 friends
• Won't affect global rank or stats
• 2-player games supported

Four colors, 1 → 13

Standard tiles come in four colors — red, black, blue, yellow — with numbers 1 through 13. Two copies of every tile, so 104 standard tiles total.

The 2 antique tiles

Two special “Antique” tiles bring the total to 106. They take the place of the Joker tiles in the draw pile and are exactly the same size and value as the tile they replace.

Point values

Penalty math rewards skill: a Joker that you drew or were dealt costs 25 if you finish with it; a Joker you cleverly stole from a meld costs only 2. Luck costs you, intelligence rewards you.

Seating

Teammates always sit directly opposite each other. The two players to your left and right are your opponents. Turns rotate counter-clockwise.

The Captain

The Captain deals tiles and starts each round.

• First Captain: random.
• After that: the previous round's winner becomes Captain.
• Cancelled round (3 reshuffles, no winner): the previous Captain stays.

Dealing

After all 106 tiles are shuffled face-down, the Captain receives 15 (so they can throw immediately on turn 1) and everyone else gets 14. The first tile from the draw pile is then flipped face-up — that becomes the Cap. The rest of the pile stays face-down.

Your hand

Your tiles live on a draggable rack. Drag them around to organize, or tap-and-hold to select multiple at once when forming groups.

Three areas of play

• Draw Pile — the face-down stack you draw from each turn.
• Discard Pool — the face-up area where players throw tiles. Only the LAST tile matters.
• Drop Zone — where valid melds are placed once a player opens.

The Cup

After dealing, the first tile from the draw pile is flipped and placed in the center — this is the Cap (Cup). It stays face-up the whole round so everyone can see what the Joker is. The Cap itself is removed from play; its twin in the draw pile remains a normal tile.

Joker formula

The Joker is always the tile one number below the Cap, in the same color. Cap = 9 RED → Joker = 8 RED. Cap = 1 BLACK → Joker = 13 BLACK (it wraps). Both copies of the Joker number+color are removed from the draw pile and the two Antique tiles take their place.

Real Joker vs Fake Joker

The Real Joker (the actual Cap−1 tile) is a true wildcard — it stands in for any missing tile in any meld. The Fake Joker (Antique) shares the same value but only fills one specific spot in a meld.

Joker in a meld

A Joker takes the value of the position it fills. In a run it slots between numbers; in a group it represents the missing color of the same number.

Two Jokers in a 3-tile meld

Two Jokers in a 3-tile meld is never valid: is it 7-8-9? 6-8-10? 8-8-8? The combination cannot be determined. It IS allowed in 4+ tile melds where the positions can be inferred unambiguously (e.g. 5R - Joker - 7R - Joker - 9R).

Two types of melds

Every meld is either a GROUP (same number, different colors) or a RUN (same color, sequential numbers). Minimum 3 tiles, maximum 5.

Groups — same number

3 or 4 tiles of the same number, each a different color. You can NEVER use the same color twice in a group — that's an instant invalid meld.

Runs — same color

3 or more tiles of the same color in sequence. The 1 (Ace) can be used as either LOW (1-2-3) or HIGH (12-13-1) — but it cannot bridge: 13-1-2 is invalid.

Common invalid melds

• Two reds in a group (same color twice).
• Run with mixed colors (5 RED + 6 BLUE).
• Bridge wrap: 13-1-2 not allowed.

Three phases per turn

• DRAW — pull one tile from the draw pile, OR take the last discard (only if it opens you, or you're already open).
• MELD — optional. Place new melds, or extend existing opened melds.
• DISCARD — mandatory. Throw exactly one tile to end your turn.

How a turn looks

Drag a tile to the discard pool to throw. Drag onto the drop zone to open or extend melds. Tap-hold groups together to drop them as one meld.

Discard pool rules

• Before opening: you can take a discard ONLY if it lets you open this turn.
• After opening: you can take the latest discard freely each turn.
• Only the LAST tile thrown by your left-hand opponent — never older discards.
• Never your own teammate's discard.

Reshuffles

When the draw pile runs out, the discard pool is reshuffled into a new draw pile. This can happen up to THREE times per round. If nobody finishes by the third reshuffle, the round is cancelled — no penalties, the same Captain redeals.

The 81-point minimum

Opening means placing melds into the Drop Zone for the first time. Their combined value must total at least 81 points (Erbil standard). After opening, you unlock all the in-table interactions: you can extend melds, steal jokers, and take the latest discard freely.

Opening example

9 RED + 9 BLACK + 9 YELLOW = 27 pts · 10 BLUE + 11 BLUE + 12 BLUE = 30 pts · 7 BLACK + 8 BLACK + 9 BLACK = 24 pts. 27 + 30 + 24 = 81 ✓

Sneaky finish

You don't HAVE to open. If you build all your melds in hand and finish without ever placing them, you deny opponents any chance to steal your Joker or extend your melds. It's harder, but devastating when it works.

Dynamic minimum

The minimum is dynamic. When your TEAMMATE opens, your bar drops to 61. When ONE OPPONENT opens, the OTHER opponent also drops to 61. When both opponents have opened, your bar resets to their highest score + 1.

Opening in hand

When all your tiles form valid melds without needing to drop them on the table, drag your last tile to the Cap to finish — instant win.

Hand score indicator

This circle shows the total of your grouped tiles. Tap it to auto-arrange your hand. When it turns red, you've gone to KonKan.

When you can steal

Once you've opened your hand (or are in KonKan mode), you can steal a Joker from any opened meld in the Drop Zone — yours, your teammate's, or an opponent's. You give the exact real tile the Joker is standing in for, and take the Joker into your hand.

Stealing from a run

If the Joker fills the slot for 8 BLACK in a 7 BLACK – Joker – 9 BLACK run, drop your real 8 BLACK to replace it and take the Joker.

Stealing from a group

In a 3-tile group with one Joker, the Joker stands for any color not already in the group. Provide one of the missing colors (e.g. 11 BLUE) to take the Joker.

Dead Joker (4-tile group)

When a group has 3 real tiles and a Joker (= 4 tiles, all four colors implied), the Joker is DEAD. Nobody can steal it for the rest of the round — it's locked into that meld.

What is KonKan?

KonKan is a high-risk, high-reward path. A KonKan win DOUBLES the penalty collected from unopened opponents — but the requirements are much tougher than a normal finish.

Voluntary entry

You enter KonKan mode by picking a tile from the Discard Pool BEFORE you've ever opened. You commit yourself to the KonKan win condition.

Forced entry — trap!

You can be tricked into KonKan if you add to an opponent's meld before opening yourself. (Eliminated players are immune — they cannot be forced into KonKan.)

Win requirements

• TEN tiles of the same color in sequence (a 10-tile run).
• Plus AT LEAST ONE valid 3- or 4-tile meld.
• Then discard your last tile = KonKan win.

The 5 KonKan sequences

Five possible sequences, four colors, twenty total KonKan combinations. Sequences DO NOT stack — only one 10-tile run counts.

Locking (3-tile case)

If your second meld is only 3 tiles (not 4), you must “lock” one tile into an existing Drop Zone meld:

• Insert your tile on ONE side of an opened meld.
• That side becomes locked — nobody can extend it.
• The opposite side stays open for others.
• You only get ONE lock per KonKan. Trying a second lock = elimination.

Force KonKan (final round)

In the final (Determine) round, a team too far behind to win normally is Force Konkaned. Both members must KonKan. They get THREE choices at round start:

• Xarbat — full reshuffle and re-deal.
• Joker Change — draw a new Cap, change the Joker.
• No Choice — play normally without the reset.

KonKan scoring

There's no extra penalty for FAILING a KonKan attempt — the difficulty itself is the cost. If you set up but can't close, the round just plays out normally.

The 1st-pick / 2nd-pick rule

• 1st pick from a KonKan player's discards: free, no condition.
• 2nd pick: you MUST finish your hand immediately. If you can't, you're eliminated.
• KonKan players themselves: can pick from another KonKan player's discards unlimited times.

How to finish

• Drop all remaining tiles as valid melds into the Drop Zone.
• Discard your final tile to the Discard Pool.
• OR: finish without ever opening (sneaky finish).

Penalties

You don't earn points — you collect penalties from opponents and they collect from you. Net total after seven rounds (plus the Determine round if needed) decides the winner.

Example

You finish. Your teammate: 0 penalty (protected). Opponent A didn't open: 100 penalty. Opponent B opened but had 3 RED + 11 BLACK left: 3 + 10 = 13 penalty. Your team collects 100 + 13 = 113 points.

Round structure

• 7 regular rounds.
• Each round: up to 3 reshuffles. No winner = round cancelled, no scoring.
• After 7 rounds, if a comeback is possible: a Determine (final) round is played — Force KonKan rules apply.

What happens when you're out

• Your tiles stay hidden in your hand — others can't see them.
• Each turn: draw one tile, immediately discard the same tile.
• Nobody can pick up your discards on the same turn you're eliminated.
• You can't open, drop, steal, or interact with the Drop Zone.
• You're a ghost mover until the round ends.

How you get eliminated

• 1. Failed opening — you tried to open below the minimum AND discarded.
• 2. 2nd pick from a KonKan player's discards without finishing.
• 3. Second lock attempt during a KonKan finish.

Eliminated ≠ Konkaned

Eliminated players are completely dead. They cannot be forced into KonKan, their discards can't be used as triggers, they just keep the game moving by cycling one tile per turn.

Common mistakes

• Picking from the discard pool before opening (unless it opens you).
• Same color twice in a group (7 RED + 7 RED = invalid).
• Mixed colors in a run (5 RED + 6 BLUE = invalid).
• Bridge wrap: 13-1-2 = invalid.
• Two Jokers in a 3-tile meld = ambiguous, invalid.
• Adding to a Drop Zone meld before opening → forced KonKan.
• 2nd pick from a KonKan player's discards without finishing → eliminated.
• Second lock attempt in KonKan → eliminated.

Key numbers — setup

Key numbers — scoring

You're ready 🎉

That's the entire rulebook. The fastest way to learn is to play — start a quick game against bots and try the dynamic-minimum rule, the joker steal, and (when you're feeling brave) a KonKan run.