Published card games
Skyjo
Get the lowest total possible by revealing and swapping the cards in your grid, while watching for the right moment to end the round.
- players
- 2–8
- minutes
- 30
- variants
- 3
You’ll need the game box. Marquoir sums up the rules and keeps score.
Setup
- Each player gets twelve cards laid face down in three rows of four.
- Everyone reveals two cards of their choice. The player whose two visible cards add up to the most goes first.
- The rest forms the draw pile; one card is turned face up beside it to start the discard pile.
How to play
- On your turn, take either the face-up card from the discard pile or the top card of the draw pile.
- A card taken from the discard pile must replace a card in your grid.
- A card drawn from the pile can be placed in your grid, or discarded: you then reveal one of your face-down cards.
- As soon as a player has all twelve cards face up, the round ends after one last turn for the others.
Scoring
- Cards range from -2 to 12. Negative cards and zeros are the ones you want to keep.
- Three identical cards lined up in the same column: the whole column is discarded and no longer counts.
- At the end of the round, everyone adds up their twelve cards.
- The player who ended the round has their score doubled if they are not alone with the lowest total. A negative score is never doubled.
End of the game
- The game ends at the end of the round in which a player reaches or goes over 100 points.
- The lowest cumulative total wins the game.
Variants
Target score
100 points (official)
50 points (short game)
200 points (long game)
chosen when starting, the scorer follows
Frequently asked questions
When is your score doubled in Skyjo?
When you end the round without having the lowest total on your own. A negative total is never doubled.
How do you remove a column in Skyjo?
All three cards in the column must be face up and of the same value. The column is then discarded and no longer counts toward your total.
What happens when the draw pile runs out?
Shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile, leaving the top face-up card in place.
Do you have to reveal a card when you discard the one you just drew?
Yes. Drawing and then discarding means you must reveal one of your face-down cards.
Does the game stop as soon as a player goes over 100 points?
No, the current round is played to the end. Totals are then compared, and the lowest wins.
Can a removed column contain negative cards?
Yes, but it is rarely a good deal: three -2 cards are worth -6, whereas removing them brings the column back to zero.
The box
- Released
- 2015
- Age
- Ages 8+
- Designer
- Alexander Bernhardt
- Artwork
- Alexander Bernhardt
- Publisher
- Magilano
- Mechanics
- Construction de motifsCollection
- Contents
- 150 cartes numérotées de −2 à 12
- 1 livret de règles
Rules on video
- La Vidéorègle Complète 4K du Jeu Skyjo par Yahndrev
- SKYJO - Le Jeu de Carte - Mise en place et règle du jeu
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.
Where to find it
Specialist French shops. Marquoir earns nothing from these links.