Skip-Bo – a fun way to spend time with cards and friends

Skip-Bo is a card game that is a version of the game Spite and Malice. It was first produced as Skip-Bo in 1967, by Minnie Hazel Bowman. In 2013 IOS also published a mobile version, but this article is focused on the non-digital version.

At the beginning of the game, all players are handed 20-30 cards, depending on how many players there are. These cards are put in a pile, where only the top card is visible. On hand, players have always five cards, and in front of the players, they have four stacks with cards, which they also can use.

There can be four stacks on the playing table and a stack always starts with number one or a joker (in this game it´s called Skip-Bo). After that, the players try to place the cards from their card pile in numerical order. The player that places all the cards from the pile first wins. Players can use the cards from their hand to help them place the cards from the pile.

Can you become the Champion?

What I really liked about this game is that it´s really easy and fast to learn, as the basic idea is to put cards in numerical order. As it´s so simple, it also fits players of all ages.

Another aspect I really liked about this game, is that it´s really interesting to play, even if there are only two players. I tried the game in two different ways: in the first game there were only two of us playing and in the second game, there were 5 of us. Often cards games can be a bit boring if there are only two players, but this was really entertaining even then.

I really recommend trying this game as I really enjoyed it. It´s really easy to start as a beginner and the games are quite short. You can also affect the length of the game with the number of cards you decide to deal with in the beginning. This also helps to try the game, as you know you don’t have to spend the next several hours playing it.

Basic info:

Designer: Minnie Hazel Bowman

Publisher: Mattel

Release date: 1967

Number of players: 2-6

Playing time: 20 minutes

PEGI: 7+

Pictures are taken by the author.

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