Photo: BCD Jeux, partner shopCard games
Skyjo
MagilanoAlexander Bernhardt2015
- players
- 2–8
- minutes
- 30
- years
- 8+
In the box
150 cards numbered −2 to 12 · 1 rulebook
Box details
- Designer
- Alexander Bernhardt
- Artwork
- Alexander Bernhardt
- Publisher
- Magilano
- Mechanics
- Pattern BuildingSet Collection
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
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The basics
Each player has twelve face-down cards in front of them, two of them revealed: the aim is to end with the lowest total. On your turn, take the discard or the top card of the draw pile and swap it for a card in your grid, or discard the drawn card and reveal a face-down card; three identical cards in a column are discarded. When someone reaches 100 points at the end of a round, the lowest total wins.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
12 cards face down, 2 turned face up
- The deck has 150 cards: five -2s, fifteen 0s, and ten copies of each value from -1 to 12.
- Each player gets twelve cards, laid face down in front of them in four columns of three.
- One card from the draw pile is turned face up in the middle to start the discard pile; the rest, face down, forms the draw pile.
- Everyone reveals two cards of their choice. The player whose two visible cards add up to the most goes first.
How to play
Discard or draw pile, Swap a card, Or reveal one
- 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, face up or face down, without looking at the face-down card before swapping. The replaced card goes face up onto the discard pile.
- A card drawn from the pile can be swapped in the same way, or discarded: you then reveal one of your face-down cards.
- Play goes clockwise.
- Three identical face-up cards in the same column are discarded at once, including during the last turn. After a swap, they go onto the discard pile on top of the swapped card.
- As soon as a player has all twelve cards face up, each other player takes one more turn, then the round ends.
Scoring
Sum of the grid, Finisher not lowest: ×2, Only positive total ×2
- 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 turns over their remaining face-down cards and adds up the cards left in their grid; a negative total lowers the cumulative score.
- The player who ended the round has their round total doubled if they do not have strictly the lowest total (a tie does not protect them). Only positive totals are doubled.
End of the game
100 points, Lowest cumulative total
- 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.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family · Play with the game assistant
Variants
Target score
100 points (official)
50 points (short game)
200 points (long game)
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
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?
The rulebook does not cover it. The most common practice: shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw pile, leaving the top 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 you keep three identical cards in a column?
No: the rulebook requires the column to be discarded as soon as three identical cards are face up in it, even if they are negative cards. Three -2s lined up are therefore lost, so it is better not to gather them in the same column.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.