OBJECT OF SKIP-BO: The object of Skip-Bo is to be the first player to play all of the cards in your stock pile in numerical order.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 to 6 players
MATERIALS: 144 Game Cards, 18 Skip-Bo cards, and Instructions
TYPE OF GAME: Party Card Game
AUDIENCE: 7+
OVERVIEW OF SKIP-BO
Skip-Bo is a quick play party game that keeps everyone on their toes. Attempt to create building piles by stacking cards in ascending order based off of their numbers.
Each player may only have four building piles at a time, and even that can get overwhelming quick!
Players attempt to quickly drain their stock pile, but with poor cards taking up space in your hand, it can get ridiculously difficult ridiculously quick.
Skip-Bo cards may be your saving grace if the number you need isn’t there, as they can take the space of any number.
SETUP
Shuffle all the cards together and allow each player to draw a card. The player who draws the highest card becomes the dealer.
If there are between two to four players, the dealer will deal each player thirty cards. If there are five or more players, the dealer will deal twenty cards to each player.
The cards are kept face down, creating each player’s stock pile. Each player will then flip the top card of their stock pile, leaving all the other cards undisturbed.
The rest of the deck is placed face down in the middle of the play area.
GAMEPLAY
Pile Descriptions
Throughout the game, each player will develop five stacks of cards.
Stock Pile
The players’ stock piles will be located on their right with the top card facing up at all times.
Draw Pile
The cards that remain after all cards are dealt to the players are placed in the middle of the table, forming the draw pile.
Building Piles
Each player may form up to four building piles throughout the game. A 1 card or a Skip-Bo card may begin a building pile.
Each pile is then built numerically, one through twelve, in ascending order. Once a pile of twelve cards is completed, it can be removed, and a new pile may be started in its place.
Discard Piles
There may be up to four discard piles created to the left of the stock pile of each player. Any number of cards may go into the discard piles, but only the top card can be played.
The player to the left of the dealer will begin the game. They will begin by drawing five cards from the draw pile.
If they have a Skip-Bo or a 1 card, either in their hand or on top of their stock pile, they may use it to begin a building pile. Their turn may continue as they add cards, in numerical order onto their building pile.
If they play all five cards in their hand, they may draw five more.
If they are unable to lay any more cards down, their turn comes to an end when they discard one of the cards in their hand into one of their discard piles.
Gameplay continues around the group to the left.
On the second turn, and any turn past that, players may only draw as many cards as they need to bring their hand back up to five cards. They may then add to the building piles.
The player who plays all the cards in their stock pile wins the game!
END OF GAME
The game comes to an end when a player uses all the cards in their stock pile. That player is the winner.
You may choose to continue the game to allow for numerous rounds. If this is the case, the winner will earn five points for each card remaining in the opponents’ stock piles and twenty-five points for winning the game.
Numerous rounds may continue until a player reaches five hundred points, and they are declared the winner.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When you play skip bo, how many cards are you dealt?
If playing skip bo with two to four players, the dealer will deal each player thirty cards. If there are five or more players, the dealer will deal twenty cards to each player.
How do you get rid of all your cards when playing skip bo?
You may play cards to your Building piles in ascending numerical order, or to your discard piles to be played later.
How do you win Skip Bo?
Winning at skip bo requires a player to play all the cards from thier Stock Pile. Once a player empties thier stock pile, they have won.
Can you draw cards from the discard pile in Skip bo?
You may only play the top card of each of your discard piles, and you cannot draw cards from your discard back into your hand.
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