Skip-Bo card games: the classic deck and tins

Three ways to hold the same card game

Every set on this page plays the full rules: stockpiles of 30 cards for two to four players and 20 for five or six, four build piles in the middle, four discard piles each, and 18 wild SKIP-BO cards. The difference is the packaging. The classic box is light and easy on the budget, the storage tin protects the cards in bags and drawers, and the Deluxe tin adds the scorepad and pencil you need for a long game to 500.

Which deck for which table

Buy the classic deck for a first copy, a stocking stuffer or a Christmas exchange. Pick the tin when the game lives in a car, a camper or a cabin closet and travels around with the family. Choose Deluxe for card-game households who like to settle every friendly argument with a written score.

Why the classic still deals the best hand

We have added Junior, Mod and Express editions over the years, yet the classic Skip-Bo deck stays the one most families keep. It works for little players who are just learning to count and for grandparents who have played for decades. It is low on setup, quick to deal and happy to run a fast twenty-minute round or a whole evening of hands. Each turn is a small puzzle: play from your stockpile, your hand or a discard pile, and decide which card to hold back so a friend cannot use it.

Looking after your deck

Shuffle on a flat surface, keep the cards dry, and sort the deck by number now and then to check that every run from 1 to 12 is complete. A full classic box holds 162 cards — 144 numbered and 18 wild — and the tins keep that collection together between game nights.