SKIP-PO

Skip-Po is a competitive card game in which you must be the first to empty your reserve pile. Play cards onto the central piles in order from 1 to 12, use wild cards strategically, and manage your hand and discard piles to get ahead of your opponents.

This is a version of the Mattel game, Skip-Bo. Here’s a brief overview of how to play:

At the start, each player receives a personal stack of face-down cards (30 cards if there are 2–4 players, 20 if there are 5 or 6), turns over the top card, and places the rest of the deck in the center as the draw pile.

Up to four building piles are formed in the center of the table, shared by all players. Each pile starts with a 1 and is built up in order, without skipping numbers, up to 12. When a pile reaches 12, it is removed, shuffled into the draw pile, and makes room for a new one.

On your turn, first draw cards until you have 5 in your hand. Then play as many cards as you can onto the building stacks, using cards from your hand, the face-up card on your personal stack, or the top card of your discard stacks. If you use up all 5 cards in your hand, draw 5 more and continue. Your turn always ends by placing a card from your hand into one of your four discard piles. Keep in mind that cards from your personal pile can only go to the building piles—never to the discard piles.

The key to winning is to prioritize your personal pile, save the wild cards to unlock it, and organize your discard piles well so you can chain cards together later on. It’s also a good idea to keep an eye on your opponents’ face-up cards so you don’t make it easy for them. You can play a single round or accumulate points over several rounds, and with 4 or 6 players, there’s a pairs variant where you can also use your partner’s cards.

Who created Skip-Po?

Ravalmatic developed this card game inspired by Skip-Bo