Skip-Bo rules

Skip-Bo is a card game for 2 to 6 players with its own deck of cards numbered 1 to 12 and wild SKIP-BO cards. Everyone shares up to 4 piles in the middle that are built up in order from 1 to 12. The first player to get rid of every card in their own stockpile wins.

Keep score Print the sheets

A building pile from 1 to 6. The SKIP-BO card stands in for the 4.

Players: 2 to 6
Ages: 7 and up
You need: A Skip-Bo deck of 162 cards: 144 numbered 1 to 12 and 18 wild SKIP-BO cards
Deal: A face-down stockpile for each player: 30 cards with 2 to 4 players, 20 cards with 5 or 6. The top card is turned face up.
Each turn: Draw up to 5 cards, play what you can onto the building piles, then discard 1 card
Goal: Be the first to play every card in your stockpile. Partners must empty both of their stockpiles.
Game ends: A hand ends when one player plays their last stockpile card, or in the partners game when both stockpiles of one team are empty. In a scored game of singles, the first player to 500 points wins.
Playing time: About 30 minutes a hand with 30-card stockpiles. A game to 500 points takes several hands.

SKIP-BO is a trademark of Mattel, Inc. This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mattel.

Quick start

Deal each player a face-down stockpile: 30 cards with 2 to 4 players, 20 with 5 or 6. Each player turns their top stockpile card face up.
Put the rest of the deck face down in the middle as the draw pile. The player on the dealer’s left goes first.
Start your turn by drawing until you hold 5 cards.
Play cards in order onto up to 4 shared building piles. Only a 1 or a wild SKIP-BO card starts a pile, and each pile goes up to 12.
Play from your hand, the top of your stockpile and the tops of your discard piles. Empty your hand and you draw 5 more. End by discarding 1 card.
The first player to play their last stockpile card wins. To keep score, they get 5 points for each card left in other stockpiles, plus 25. First to 500 wins.

Rule sheet and score sheet

Print the whole game on one page, and a score sheet made for Skip-Bo. Both are free PDFs for Letter paper.

Download the rule sheet

PDF, 1 page. The whole game on one page.

Download the score sheet

PDF, 1 page. Laid out for Skip-Bo.

Setup

2 to 6 players, each playing alone. A partners game is further down.

You need: One Skip-Bo deck of 162 cards.

The 162 cards
In the set	Count
Number cards 1 to 12, 12 of each number	144
SKIP-BO cards (wild)	18
Total	162

Some boxes include blank cards. Take them out before you play, because they are not part of the game.
A newer color-blind-accessible box lists 168 cards. We could not check how that deck is made up.

Take out any blank cards. Shuffle, and have each player draw a card. The highest card deals, and a SKIP-BO card does not count.
The dealer deals each player a stockpile, face down. Each stockpile is 30 cards with 2 to 4 players and 20 cards with 5 or 6.
Put your stockpile in front of you, with room on its left for 4 discard piles. Turn its top card face up without looking at the others.
Put the rest of the deck face down in the middle as the draw pile. Leave room around it for 4 building piles.
The player on the dealer’s left goes first. Turns pass to the left.

How many to deal
Players	Each player gets	Notes
2 to 4	30 cards in each stockpile	The rest of the deck is the draw pile. Nobody holds a hand until their first turn.
5 or 6	20 cards in each stockpile	The rest of the deck is the draw pile.

Each player’s stockpile

30 cards, or 20 with 5 or 6 players. Only the top card is face up.

Draw pile

The rest of the deck, face down in the middle

After the deal: each player has a face-down stockpile with its top card turned up, and the draw pile sits in the middle. The building piles and discard piles start during play.

After each hand the deal passes to the left.
Nobody is dealt a hand. You draw your first 5 cards at the start of your first turn.

How to play

Turns pass to the left. On your turn you draw, play as many cards as you can or want onto the building piles, and finish with a discard.

Draw up to 5 cards

Start your turn by drawing from the draw pile until you hold 5 cards. On your first turn that is 5 cards. Later, if you still hold 2 cards, you draw 3.
- If you draw more cards than you should, shuffle the extra cards into your own stockpile. That gives you more cards to get rid of.
Know the building piles

Up to 4 building piles sit in the middle, and every player plays on them. Only a 1 or a SKIP-BO card can start one. Each card on a pile must be the next number up: 2 on 1, 3 on 2, and so on to 12.
- No building pile exists at the start. They are started during play.
- With 4 piles going, nobody can start another until one of them is finished.
A building pile

Only a 5 or a SKIP-BO card can go on next

A building pile goes up one number at a time, starting with a 1.
Play your cards

Play as many cards as you can and want onto the building piles. They can come from your hand, the top card of your stockpile and the top card of each of your discard piles. When you play your top stockpile card, turn the next one face up.
- You never have to play a card, even from your stockpile. The rules suggest playing stockpile cards whenever you can, because emptying your stockpile is how you win.
- Only the top card of a discard pile can be played. Once it is gone, the card under it becomes the top card and can be played too.
- Cards from your stockpile and discard piles go only onto building piles.
Use SKIP-BO cards

A SKIP-BO card is wild. It can start a building pile or stand for any number on one. The next card on that pile is the number after the one it stood for.
- A SKIP-BO card can be played from your hand, from the top of your stockpile or from the top of a discard pile.
- On a pile showing 6, a SKIP-BO card is the 7, and an 8 goes on next.
Draw again if your hand is empty

If you play all 5 cards from your hand during your turn, draw 5 more and keep playing.
- This can happen more than once in the same turn.
End your turn with a discard

When you cannot play or do not want to, discard 1 card from your hand onto one of your discard piles. That ends your turn. You may have up to 4 discard piles, to the left of your stockpile. Any card can go on any of them.
- The cards in a discard pile do not have to be in order.
- Discard piles are started during play, like the building piles. Your first discard starts your first one.
- Only cards from your hand can be discarded.
Clear finished piles

When a building pile reaches 12, take it away and set it aside. A new pile can be started in its place. When the draw pile runs out, shuffle the set-aside piles together to make a new draw pile.
- The rules do not say what to do if the draw pile runs out before any pile has reached 12. Agree on it if it comes up.
Empty your stockpile to win

The first player to play the last card of their stockpile wins the hand. Shuffle all the cards to deal the next hand.
- If a player takes a turn out of order and someone notices before the turn ends, stop it there. Play goes back to the right order, and the player who went out of turn skips the draw at the start of their next turn.
- If nobody notices until the out-of-turn play is over, it stands. The next turn goes to the player on the left of the one who played out of turn.

Example: one turn using every kind of pile

Two building piles are going, one with a 4 on top and one with an 11. Your stockpile shows a 6. Your discard piles show a 7 and a 2. After drawing, you hold a 5, a SKIP-BO card, a 12 and two 3s. Play the 5 from your hand on the 4. Play the 6 from your stockpile, and turn up its next card, a 9. Play the 7 from your discard pile, which uncovers a 3 under it. Then play the SKIP-BO card as the 8, and the 9 from your stockpile. The next stockpile card is a 2, and no pile is ready for it. Play the 12 on the other pile. It is finished, so set it aside. Nothing fits your two 3s, so discard one onto a discard pile to end your turn.

Building piles before your turn

The top card of each pile

Your stockpile

A 9 and then a 2 are under the 6

Your first discard pile

The 7 is on top

Your second discard pile

Your hand after drawing

The first building pile after your plays

5 from your hand, 6 from your stockpile, 7 from a discard pile, the SKIP-BO card as the 8, then the 9 from your stockpile

The table before your turn, and the building pile you made.

Scoring

Keeping score is optional. Without it, the first player to empty their stockpile wins. For a longer game, play several hands. Only the winner of each hand scores, for the cards still left in the other players’ stockpiles.

Points for the player who wins a hand
For	Points
Each card left in another player’s stockpile	5
Winning the hand	25

Cards left in hands and in discard piles do not count. Only stockpile cards score.
The rule sheet does not say how to score a partners game. Agree on it before you start.

The first player to play the last card of their stockpile wins the hand. In a scored game, the first player to reach 500 points wins.

Keep a running total for each player on paper. After each hand, count the cards left in the other stockpiles, multiply by 5, add 25 and add that to the winner’s total.

A worked example: scoring one hand

Three people are playing. You play the last card of your stockpile and win the hand. The player on your left still has 4 cards in their stockpile, and the player on your right has 7. You score 80 points.

What happened	Points
Player on your left: 4 stockpile cards at 5 points each	20
Player on your right: 7 stockpile cards at 5 points each	35
Bonus for winning the hand	25
Your points for the hand	80

Scorekeeper

For 2 to 6 players. After each hand, enter the points for the player who emptied their stockpile: 5 for each card left in the other stockpiles, plus 25 for winning. The first player to 500 wins. It works in this browser, keeps the game if the page reloads, and needs no account.

Other ways to play

Skip-Bo for 5 or 6 players

Deal each player a stockpile of 20 cards in place of 30. Everything else stays the same.

Skip-Bo with partners

Players can team up in pairs. The usual rules apply, with these changes. On your turn you may play from your partner’s stockpile and discard piles as well as your own. Your partner stays silent during your turn. Only you can ask them to make a play, such as “Partner, play your 7.” A player caught cheating takes 2 cards from the draw pile and adds them to their stockpile without looking at them. Once one partner’s stockpile is empty, both partners keep playing. The game ends when both stockpiles of one team are empty, and that team wins. The rule sheet does not say how teams score.

House rules and other versions

Short game: Deal a stockpile of 10 cards to each player. All the other rules stay the same. This variation is in the official rules.
One hand, no score: Play a single hand. The first player to empty their stockpile wins, and nobody keeps score. The official rules treat scoring as optional.

Rule questions

How many cards are in a Skip-Bo deck?

162. There are 144 number cards, 12 each of 1 through 12, and 18 wild SKIP-BO cards. Some boxes also include blank cards, which you take out before playing. A newer color-blind-accessible box lists 168 cards.

How many cards go in each stockpile?

30 cards each with 2 to 4 players, and 20 cards each with 5 or 6. The official short game uses 10 cards each.

Do you have to play the top card of your stockpile when you can?

No. The rules never make you play a card, and you may end your turn whenever you choose. They do suggest playing stockpile cards first, since emptying your stockpile is how you win.

Can you play a card from the middle of a discard pile?

No. Only the top card of each discard pile can be played. When it goes, the card beneath it becomes the new top card. The rules give no way to move cards from one discard pile to another.

How many discard piles can you have?

Up to 4, all your own, to the left of your stockpile. You can put any card on any of them, in any order. Building piles in the middle are shared and also have a limit of 4.

What happens if you play all 5 cards in your hand?

Draw 5 more cards and keep playing. Your turn still ends with a discard from your hand.

What happens when a building pile reaches 12?

Take the whole pile away and set it aside. A new pile can be started in that spot with a 1 or a SKIP-BO card. The set-aside piles become the new draw pile when the old one runs out.

What happens when the draw pile runs out?

Shuffle the finished building piles that were set aside and turn them face down as the new draw pile.

Can a SKIP-BO card start a building pile, and can you discard one?

Yes to both. A SKIP-BO card can start a pile or stand for any number from 1 to 12. The turn ends by discarding any card from your hand, and nothing in the rules stops that card being a SKIP-BO card.

What happens if you draw too many cards?

Shuffle the extra cards into your own stockpile. You then have more stockpile cards to play before you can win.

How do you score Skip-Bo?

The winner of each hand scores 5 points for every card left in the other players’ stockpiles, plus 25 points for winning. Nobody else scores. The first player to reach 500 points wins the game. Scoring is optional.

What happens if someone plays out of turn?

If anyone notices before that turn is over, stop it and go back to the right order. The player who went out of turn does not draw at the start of their next turn. If nobody notices until the turn is over, the play stands, and the player on their left goes next.

Words used in Skip-Bo

Stockpile: Your own face-down pile from the deal, with its top card face up. Playing every card in it wins the hand.
Draw pile: The face-down pile in the middle. You draw from it to bring your hand up to 5 cards.
Building pile: One of up to 4 shared piles in the middle. It starts with a 1 or a SKIP-BO card and goes up one number at a time to 12.
Discard pile: One of up to 4 piles of your own, to the left of your stockpile. You end each turn by putting a card from your hand on one. Only its top card can be played.
SKIP-BO card: The wild card. It can start a building pile or stand for any number from 1 to 12. The deck has 18.
Hand: The cards you hold, up to 5. In scoring, a hand also means one deal, played until someone empties their stockpile. The rule sheet calls that a game.

What you need

A Skip-Bo deck162 cards: 144 number cards and 18 SKIP-BO cards.Find it on Amazon (A Skip-Bo deck, opens in a new tab)
A score pad and pencilOnly for a scored game to 500. Plain paper works, and so does our printable score sheet.Find it on Amazon (A score pad and pencil, opens in a new tab)

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Checked against

These rules are written in our own words from one Mattel instruction sheet and checked against another. Sources last checked on October 12, 2026.

First source: Mattel, SKIP-BO instruction sheet, product 42050 (file 42050-0920, copyright 2009). The 162-card deck, removing blank cards, choosing the dealer, stockpile sizes, the turn, building and discard piles, SKIP-BO cards, finished piles, the empty draw pile, winning, scoring to 500, partners, the short game and the special situations.
Second source: Mattel, Holiday SKIP-BO instruction sheet, product R7311 (sheet R7311-0920, copyright 2010, English and Spanish). Checks every rule and number against a second edition: the deck, deal, turn, piles, scoring, partners, short game and special situations.

Other sources we used (3)

Mattel, Shop listing for the Skip-Bo card game, product 52370 (Canada). 2 to 6 players and ages 7 and up, which the sheets show only as icons, and the 162-card count.
Mattel, Shop listing for the color-blind-accessible Skip-Bo card game, product JMM20 (Canada). The 168-card count of the newer box.
Wikipedia, Skip-Bo. That the 144 number cards are 12 of each number from 1 to 12.

Where the sources differ (6)

Topic	Mattel, 2009	Mattel, 2010	This page
Edition and wording	The standard game, copyright 2009, English only.	The holiday edition, copyright 2010, in English and Spanish. Its English rules match the first sheet point for point, and it adds no holiday cards or rules.	Follows both. No rule on the page depends on which sheet is used.
Number of players	Gives deals for 2 to 4 players and for 5 or more. The box range shows only as a 2-6 icon.	The same deals and the same 2-6 icon.	2 to 6 players, as Mattel’s shop listing states. The 20-card deal is given for 5 or 6.
Stockpile size	30 cards for 2 to 4 players, 20 for 5 or more, and 10 in the short game.	The same.	Follows both sheets. Wikipedia gives 30 and suggests 10 to 15 for a faster game. The page uses only the sheets’ numbers.
Finished building piles	A pile that reaches 12 is removed. The finished piles are shuffled into a new draw pile only when the draw pile is used up.	The same.	Follows both sheets: set aside at 12, shuffled in when the draw pile runs out. Finished piles are not added to the draw pile right away.
Deck size across boxes	162 cards: 144 numbered 1 to 12 and 18 SKIP-BO cards. No count for each number.	The same.	162 cards, with 12 of each number from Wikipedia and our arithmetic. A note says Mattel’s newer color-blind-accessible box lists 168 cards.
Partners after one stockpile is empty	Both partners can keep playing from their remaining discard or building piles.	The same wording.	Says both partners keep playing, without repeating the unclear mention of building piles.

What on this page is our own

The playing time of about 30 minutes a hand is our estimate.
The play example, the scoring example and the cards in the diagrams are our own, and so is their arithmetic.
That the 144 number cards are 12 of each number comes from Wikipedia and matches 144 divided by 12. Neither sheet prints it.
Giving the 20-card deal as 5 or 6 players joins the sheets’ 5 or more to the 2-to-6 range on Mattel’s shop listing.
That turns pass to the left is our reading. The sheets have the player on the dealer’s left start, and after an out-of-turn play the next turn goes to that player’s left.
That cards from the stockpile and discard piles go only onto building piles, and that only cards from your hand can be discarded, are our reading of the turn as the sheets describe it.
That a SKIP-BO card may be discarded is our reading. The sheets let you discard any card from your hand and make no exception.
That a SKIP-BO card can be played from a stockpile or discard pile follows from the sheets letting the top card of those piles be played. They do not single it out.
That drawing 5 more can happen more than once in a turn is our reading. The sheets give the rule without a limit.
That nobody can start a fifth building pile while 4 are going follows from the limit of 4. The sheets do not say it outright.
That cards left in hands and discard piles do not score is our reading. The sheets count only the cards left in the other stockpiles.
The note that the sheets do not cover an empty draw pile with no finished piles is our observation.
That a partners game is won by the team whose stockpiles are both empty is our reading of the sheets’ rule that the game is over at that point.
Shuffling all the cards to deal the next hand is our assumption. The sheets say only that the deal passes to the left after each game.
The notes under What you need describe products and are not rules. The score sheet and scorekeeper are our own design.
The pieces pictured at the top of the page are our own example.
That the rules give no way to move cards between discard piles, and that your first discard starts your first discard pile, are our reading of the turn as the sheets describe it.

Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] and we'll check it against the sources.