Traditional card games
Cabo
Smiling Monster GamesMandy Henning, Melissa Limes2010
- players
- 2–5
- minutes
- 25
- years
- 8+
In the box
52-card deck or Cabo box
Box details
- Designers
- Mandy Henning, Melissa Limes
- Artwork
- Adam Peele
- Publisher
- Smiling Monster Games
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementMemory
Where to buy it
Near you
In a shop
Within 50 km.
The basics
Each player lays four cards face down in front of them and looks at two of them just once: the aim is to have the lowest total. On your turn, take a card from the draw pile or the discard pile to replace one or more of your cards, discard the drawn card to use its power, or call Cabo, and the others play one last turn. The game ends when a player goes over 100 points, and the lowest total wins.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
Never played? Aim of the game and full rulesStep by step, with examples, for a first game.The rules, step by step
Setup
4 face-down cards, Look at 2, once
- Each player is dealt four cards, placed in a line face down in front of them; they can no longer change their order.
- At the start, everyone looks at two of their four cards, of their choice, once only.
How to play
Draw or discard pile, Powers from 7 to 12, Call Cabo
- On your turn, take the top card of the draw pile or of the discard pile, or call Cabo.
- The card you take replaces one of your cards, or several of the same value; a card from the draw pile can also go straight onto the discard pile.
- A card drawn and then discarded straight away can trigger its power: 7 or 8, look at one of your cards; 9 or 10, at an opponent's card; 11 or 12, swap one of your cards with an opponent's, without looking at either.
- When you think you have the lowest total, call Cabo. The others play one last turn.
Scoring
Total of your cards, Caller lowest: 0, Wrong: 10-point penalty
- Each card is worth its number, from 0 to 13 with the Cabo cards. With a standard deck, the Ace is worth 1, the Jack 11, the Queen 12, a black King 13 and a red King 0.
- Each player scores the total of their cards: in Cabo, you are trying not to score.
- A caller who has the lowest total, even if tied, scores zero instead of their total.
- If they are wrong, they score their total plus a 10-point penalty; the others score their totals.
- Kamikaze: ending the round with exactly two 12s and two 13s, and no other card, gives that player 0 and each other player 50.
End of the game
Over 100 points, Lowest total, Exactly 100 → 50
- The game ends when a player goes over 100 points.
- The lowest total wins; in a tie, whoever scored least in the last round.
- A total that lands exactly on 100 drops back to 50, once per player per game.
House rules and pitfalls
The game goes by the names Cabo, Dutch, Golf or Cambio.
- The game goes by the names Cabo, Dutch, Golf or Cambio. The card powers vary a great deal from one version to another.
- Expert variant suggested by the publisher: all cards stay face down, even when taken from the discard pile, and you play four rounds instead of going up to 100.
- The third edition (2025) scores differently: the lowest total always scores 0, and a caller who is wrong takes a penalty of only 5 points.
never played?Aim of the game and full rules11 chapters · about 4 min read
Goal of the game
Each player has four cards face down in front of them, which they almost never see. By drawing and swapping, they try to bring their total down, relying on their memory. When they think they have the lowest total at the table, they call "Cabo!". The lowest total over all the rounds wins. The game also goes by the names Dutch, Golf or Cambio.
What you need
The 52 cards from the Cabo box, numbered 0 to 13, or a standard 52-card deck. Two to five players.
Card values
With the Cabo box, each card is worth the number printed on it, from 0 to 13. With a standard deck:
- Ace: 1 point.
- 2 to 10: their value.
- Jack: 11 points; Queen: 12 points.
- Black King (spades, clubs): 13 points.
- Red King (hearts, diamonds): 0 points. It is the best card in the game.
Preparing a round
- Deal four cards to each player, face down. Each player lays them out in a line in front of them, without looking at them; they can no longer change their order.
- Place the rest face down in the centre: this is the draw pile. Turn over its top card to start the discard pile.
- Each player looks at two of their four cards, whichever they like, memorises them, then puts them back face down. They can no longer look at them freely.
- Choose the first player at random. In later rounds, whoever scored least in the previous round goes first.
A turn
On your turn, take one card:
- from the draw pile, without showing it. You can then swap it with one of your cards (without looking at that card first): the card you replace goes face up onto the discard pile, and the new one takes its place face down. You can also discard it straight away;
- from the discard pile, the face-up top card. You must then swap it for one of your cards, and it stays face up in front of you.
The card you take can also replace several of your cards, as long as they all have the same value: slide them forward, turn over any that were face down, then discard them, and the new card takes the place of one of them. If they do not all match, they go back to their places, face up, and the card you took is added at one end of your line; if three or more cards did not match, you also add a card from the draw pile at one end of the line, face down, without looking at it.
for example
Léa remembers that her leftmost card is a 9. She draws a 2: she swaps it with the 9, which she discards. Her total has just gone down by 7.
Card powers
A card taken from the draw pile and discarded straight away can trigger its power:
- 7 or 8: look at one of your own face-down cards;
- 9 or 10: look at one of an opponent's face-down cards;
- 11 or 12 (Jack or Queen): swap, without turning them over, one of your cards with one of an opponent's cards.
A card taken from the discard pile, or placed on the discard pile during a swap, triggers nothing. Powers vary a lot from table to table: agree on them before playing.
Calling Cabo
At the start of their turn, instead of drawing, a player who thinks they have the lowest total says "Cabo!". Every other player plays one more turn, then everyone turns over their cards and adds up their total. The round also ends when the draw pile runs out.
Scoring points
- Each player scores the total of their cards.
- If the player who called Cabo does have the lowest total, even if tied, they score 0.
- If they were wrong, they score their total plus 10 points of penalty. The others score their totals, including whoever had the lowest.
- Kamikaze: a player who ends the round with exactly two 12s and two 13s (two Queens and two black Kings with a standard deck), and no other card, scores 0, and each other player scores 50.
for example
Tom calls Cabo. He turns over a red King, an Ace, a 2 and a 3: 6 points. Léa has 11, Sam 14. Tom has won: he scores 0, Léa 11 and Sam 14.
End of the game
As soon as a player goes over 100 points, the game ends. The lowest total has won; in a tie, whichever of the tied players scored least in the last round. A total that lands exactly on 100 drops back to 50, once per player per game.
Variant: snap discard
Many tables add this rule: when a card is placed on the discard pile, any player who has (or thinks they have) a card of the same value can immediately put it on top. They now have one card fewer. If they were wrong, they take their card back and draw a penalty card.
Tips for beginners
- Remember the position of each card, not just its value.
- Look powers are often worth more than a low card: knowing is what lets you swap wisely.
- Don't call Cabo too early: a single turn for the others is enough for them to get below you.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
What is the aim?
To have the lowest total of cards in front of you. At first you only know two of your four hidden cards: memory is the whole game.
How does a turn work?
You take the card from the draw pile or the one from the discard pile, and swap it with one of your own, or with several of the same value. A card from the draw pile can also be discarded straight away and trigger its power: look, spy, swap.
When do you call "Cabo"?
When you reckon you have the lowest total, you call "Cabo": everyone else plays one last turn, then all cards are revealed. The lowest total wins; getting it wrong is costly.
What are the cards worth?
Their number, from 0 to 13 with the Cabo cards. With a standard deck, the Ace is worth 1, the Jack 11, the Queen 12, a black King 13 and a red King 0: the red Kings are the most sought-after cards.
What are the powers for?
A card drawn and then discarded straight away takes effect: a 7 or an 8 lets you look at one of your own cards, a 9 or a 10 at an opponent's card, and an 11 or a 12 (Jack, Queen) lets you swap, without looking, one of your cards with an opponent's card. Chaining them well lets you trip up other players' memories.