How to play Skip Bo

Are you searching for a fun and interactive card game?

Skip Bo is a simple but addictive game that requires little instruction and few materials.

Read below to find out how to sharpen your card-playing skills below.

Related: Card games for New Zealand

Rules of the Skip Bo

Skip Bo is one of the most common card games for two or four players can play.

Also, the game’s main objective is to be the first player to play all of your cards.

The game is simple enough for young children to learn, but it has more strategy than might be expected.

Trying to get rid of all your cards can mean buying extra turns.

However, if you run out of cards in the middle of a round, you may have to give up your bonus points and start over again.

The rules are easy to follow once you know how many cards to deal with and which ones should be set aside for scoring.

Special card deck

The game consists of a deck of cards with a unique card design.

Numbered cards 0 through 9 and five different colours of numbered cards are included.

A large number card has a small coloured square in the bottom right corner, while smaller numbers have a coloured corner at the upper right.

The words “skip” or “bo” are printed diagonally across the centre of the card.

Skip bo is a game of simple rules similar to UNO, and a 500 card game.

Here is a look at rules you need to understand before you play the Skip Bo:

Select the dealer

The player draws the highest card deals (Skip Bo cards don’t count). Starting with that person, the deal moves to the left.

Deal cards

The dealer gives you twenty cards when playing with two or four people. If there are five or more of you, you each get twelve cards. All cards are dealt face down and become your stockpile. The dealer places the remainder of the deck face down in the centre of the table for a draw pile.

Setup

In this game, each player will create four discard piles in front of their stockpiled cards. Players will also create four building piles for all players.

Beggining of the game

At the beginning of the game, there are no cards on these Building piles. Skip Bo cards are wild cards that represent any card player chooses.

Building piles

For the first three rounds of play, you can start a maximum of 4 Building piles. Each Building pile starts by playing a one or a SKIP BO card. A Building pile builds up Chronologically by playing one card at a time. When a pile has 12 cards (1-12), it is removed, and another Building pile starts in its place.

Discard piles

Each player must come up with four discard piles to the left of their stockpile. You can make them up by placing any cards on top of one another in any order. The top card is the only one you can use.

Few hints

The first thing to remember is that skipping is not just a random event.

It is not like flipping a coin or rolling dice with only two possible outcomes — heads or tails and six or seven.

Skipping is a skill. The more you play, the better you will get at it.

The better you get at it, the more likely you will win.

You can also teach yourself to play better by paying attention to how other people skip and figure out their tricks.

Some people will go for a very high number because they know they have low cards in their hands.

Others will go low because they want to avoid high numbers as much as possible.

They do this because they might be holding onto cards with high numbers on them that they do not want anyone else to pick up.

FAQ

How many cards are in skip bo?

The card game comes with 162 cards. Also, you get 12 of each number ranging from 1 to 12.

Can I download Skip bo for free?

Yes. You can download the card game for free on either your computer or mobile.

How long is the Skip bo card game?

A regular skip bo game lasts within 15 minutes. If you decide to collect points and reach 500 to win, it can take up to an hour.