Skyjo rules: how to play and how to score

Skyjo quick rules

The goal

Skyjo is played over several rounds. Each player has a grid of 12 cards in front of them, from −2 to 12, and tries to keep as few points in it as possible. Each round’s points are added to your total: when a player reaches 100 points, the game stops and the lowest total wins.

Your grid

At the start of each round, lay your 12 cards face down in 3 rows of 4 without looking at them, then flip 2 of your choice. The others stay hidden, even from you. A card never moves to another spot in your grid.

A turn

On your turn, take either the face-up top card of the discard pile or the hidden top card of the draw pile. A card from the discard pile must replace a card in your grid, face up or face down; the replaced card goes face up on the discard pile. A card from the draw pile can be kept for the same swap, or discarded, in which case you flip one of your face-down cards.

The column of three

If a column in your grid shows three face-up cards of the same value, remove those three cards and put them on the discard pile: they no longer count. This is mandatory, even for three −2s. It only works in columns, never in rows.

The end of the round

The round ends as soon as one player has all the cards of their grid face up. Every other player takes one last turn, then everyone flips their face-down cards. A column of three identical cards that appears at that moment is removed too.

Scoring

Everyone adds up the cards in their grid; the total can be negative. The player who ended the round must have the lowest total, all by themselves: if another player has fewer points or the same, their round score is doubled. A total of zero or less is never doubled, and the player who ended the round starts the next one.

The end of the game

After each scoring, check the totals. As soon as a player reaches or passes 100 points, the game stops: you never stop in the middle of a round. The lowest total wins.

Beginner traps

Ending the round too fast: if another player scores less than you or the same, your points are doubled. Taking the discard when you don’t want it: it has to replace a card in your grid. Looking for three of a kind in a row: only columns count. And watch what you discard, the next player can take it.

How to score Skyjo

Round score

The total of the cards in your grid, including the face-down cards flipped at the end of the round. −1 and −2 cards lower the total, which can be negative.

Removed columns

Three face-up cards of the same value in a column are removed: they score nothing.

Doubling

Did you end the round without having the lowest total all by yourself? Ties included, your round score is doubled, if it is positive.

Game end

Rounds add up. At the end of the round in which a player reaches or passes 100 points, the game stops: the lowest total wins.

Worked example

Emma flips her last card: her grid is worth 8 points. Jake finishes his last turn on 11, Mia on 8. Mia ties Emma, so Emma doesn’t have the lowest total all by herself: she scores 8 × 2 = 16 points. Jake scores 11, Mia 8. Had Emma’s grid been worth −3, she would have scored −3: a negative total is never doubled.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the doubling, especially on a tie: the player who ends the round needs the strictly lowest total.
• Doubling a total of zero or less: it stays as it is.
• Missing a column of three identical cards that appears when everyone flips their cards at the end of the round: it is removed too.
• Removing three identical cards in a row, or with a card still face down: only columns of three face-up cards count.

How to set up Skyjo

A game takes about 30 minutes, and setup is repeated at the start of every round: follow the four parts in order.