Skip-Bo

Skip-Bo is a sequencing shedding game published by Mattel. Players race to empty a private stock pile by using numbered cards and wild Skip-Bo cards on up to four shared building piles. The official deck has cards numbered 1 through 12 and 18 wild cards. This page uses the same central idea in a quick practice format: choose the stock card when possible, extend a pile in order, and manage four discard piles when the next number is buried.

1. Look at the face-up card on your stock pile first. That pile decides the game.
2. Draw cards until your hand has five cards, then inspect the four shared building piles.
3. Start a building pile with a 1 or a Skip-Bo card. Add the next number in sequence.
4. Use the top of a discard pile only. You can place it on a building pile when its number fits.
5. End the turn by discarding one card. Empty your stock pile before the other players.

• A building pile begins with 1 or a wild Skip-Bo card and runs upward through 12.
• All players may use the shared building piles, while each player owns their discard piles.
• A wild card stands for the number needed at that moment.
• When a pile reaches 12, remove it and open a new building slot.
• The player who plays the last card from their stock pile wins the hand.

• Play the stock card before a hand card when both moves are legal. It is the only pile that can win the hand.
• Use a wild card to uncover a stock card or finish a long sequence, not merely to start a pile.
• Keep discard piles ordered by future usefulness. A high card on a low discard pile can block later turns.
• Track which building piles are close to 12. Completing one opens a slot for a 1.
• When your hand has several options, play cards in an order that refills the hand and exposes more stock cards.

• Team Skip-Bo: Partners share a stock goal and may use their teammate's building opportunities under team rules.
• Short deal: A smaller stock pile makes a useful practice hand for learning the order of play.

• Skip-Bo gives every card a clear job, so a short hand still creates real decisions.
• The browser layout keeps the active cards visible while the rules stay easy to check.
• Fast restarts make it simple to test a different opening, bid, or bluff.

Play Skip-Bo online free on this page. The table uses virtual cards only, with no download and no real-money play. Start a hand, read the prompt, and use the controls below the cards.

The best way to learn Skip-Bo is to play a hand while checking each decision against the rules. Start another deal after the first, change one part of your plan, and watch how the result changes.

• Mattel Skip-Bo official instructions
• Pagat card game rules archive