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DONT PANIC MODERATORS, it isn't what you think. I am simply wondering if any body on this site ever played the pub game called Koo-can? My Dad played it all the time in the Westdale tavern and it seemed to be the only card game that men ever played.

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Hi Mattsdigs

Wow, you have just took me down memory lane. I never knew how to spell it, do you know or have you just done a phonetic spelling? Yep, when the children were small and we couldn't get out there were many, many good food and card evenings in the 1980s and it was always Koo-Can. You play with two packs and have 13 cards each. You cannot lay out until the pips add up to 40 and an Ace can either be 1 or 14 (but always 14 when you are adding up your total at the end, Once you have laid out others can then add to the runs and you can add to theirs. To Koo-Can is to lay out all your cards in one go - but that takes some nerves. You only have to pay on the cards left in your hand so if you try to Koo-Can and fail - that can be quite high stakes. We always used to play a penny a pip with a maximum of 50p! (hey, mortgages were 16% at that time).

I hope this is the game you mean and your dad recognises the rules as I remember them. Times and friends move on so haven't played for years.

Regards,

Unmade Marian

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I recall watching some mates play it every Saturday lunchtime at the Arkwright pub, I was even dragged into a game one Saturday when they didn't have enough to play... Can't say I ever got the hang of it..

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I think you have the wrong game there Marion!

Cu can is played with two packs and is like Rummy with 10 cards. You have to make up 'sets' of two 'four of a kind' or two '4 card runs' and a three set including the 'thinker'

It's very hard to explain how to play it but it's very easy to pick up.

It's played for "The game" and so much "Per Pip" ie '5p the game and penny a pip'

You payed out on what you had left in your hand that wasn't part of 'a set'

Nobody over here knows how to play it, the closest to it is a game they call "Nap" (short for Napoleon") and that sounds a bit like the one you've described.

We used to have a 'school' in the Meadow Club before Notts home games, '10p the game and twopence a spot' The most you could lose being around a quid! (Which was quite a bit in those days)

Perhaps the biggest school used to be in the local Liberal snooker club after a night out down The Arriba or the likes.We'd head back there and play till the sun came up ,(Which is pretty late in winter!) We used to play for 25 p a pip !!! We had a game on Christmas eve one year, playing till 8 in the morning (6 hours) at the end we totaled up who had one what, two were dead level, one was 25p up another 25p down (Bet you can't guess who was the loser!?

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So its appearing to be just a locally played game after all. The version that my father played , and tried to teach me, was the version similar to Rummy but with an imaginary card. The winner usually had two sets of three and a four hand, i.e. ace, two three, three sixes and a nine, jack, queen and king with the imaginary as the ten.

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my dad played every sunday afternoon at the railway club top of debil st netherfield we always knew when he had won extra treat that day, we all played it at home when we had family card nights but only for matchsticks mum would not let us play for money in the house .

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Kalookie is the one mainly played here in West Mids, Had some good games, but also lost quite a bit of money as well. The more the beer flowed; the more risky the game. We haven't played for about 15 odd years, so we will have to have a refresher course. Great Game. I can't say we ever saw Cucan played here, perhaps its a Nottingham game.

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If I remember ,and can slip a double deck into my skin tight leather trousers , I'll give you all a quick demonstration on Thursday night.

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If you do that they'll look like Budgie smugglers.

Ku can was played in the mess rooms of every railway location I worked at. No wonder the trains were always late.

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What was the game where you 'bid' the number of tricks you'd win, or lose, an open hand was called ' misère ovair' pronounced mizair, one pack 4 players each had 13 cards?

played it when I worked at Players No3 factory in 1967, may have been called 'SOLO' ?

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Solo Whist it is.

The calls were:-

Solo

Misere

Misere ovair

I have a feeling there's another call but I can't remember it.

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