Skip-Bo Rules

Game Overview

Skip-Bo, originally published by University Games in 1967, is a popular and entertaining card game designed for 2 to 6 players. The game requires a deck of 162 cards, which can be purchased on Amazon here.

Objective

The primary objective in Skip-Bo is to be the first player to play all of their cards from the Stock pile. The goal is to create sequences and combinations within the Building piles while discarding unwanted cards.

Setup

To begin, shuffle the deck and deal the appropriate number of cards to each player:

• For 2 to 4 players, deal 30 cards
• For 5 or more players, deal 20 cards

The remaining cards form the Draw pile, which is placed in the center of the playing area. Each player creates a Stock pile by placing their dealt cards face down and leaves the top card face up on top of the pile. Players also create up to 4 Discard piles in front of them, and during play, up to 4 Building piles will be created in the middle of the playing area.

How to Play

Each player takes turns in the following order:

1. Draw cards from the Draw pile until they have 5 cards in their hand. At the beginning of every turn, players will draw back up to 5 cards if needed.
2. If possible, add cards to the Building piles using cards from the hand, Discard piles, and Stock pile. A 1 or a Skip-Bo card is required to start any of the 4 Building piles. Cards must be added sequentially; for example, if a 4 is the top card on a Building pile, you may put either a 5 or a Skip-Bo card on top followed by a 6, etc.
3. When you’ve played all the cards from your Stock pile or hand that you can, end your turn by adding one card from your hand to any of the 4 Discard piles in front of you. Play then moves to the next player.

If a player gets rid of all 5 cards in their hand on a turn, they draw back up to 5 cards immediately and continue playing their turn. You may continue to immediately draw back up to 5 any time you use all 5 cards.

Scoring and End of Game

The first player to get rid of all of the cards in their Stock pile wins! Players may wish to play several games and keep score: the winner of each game scores 5 points for each card remaining in their opponents’ STOCK piles, plus 25 points for winning the game. The first person to collect 500 points wins.

Common Variants

For a shorter game, deal a Stock pile of only 10 cards to each player. In a partnership, players can play from both their and their partner's Stock and Discard piles. Partners may not discuss moves, and the game is over when both partners' Stock piles are finished.

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting that a Skip-Bo card can be used as any card you need
• Overlooking the importance of using cards from the Stock pile before other sources
• Ignoring the rules about sequential order when adding cards to Building piles
• Not understanding that players start their own Discard piles during gameplay, and they are imaginary until started.