Skyjo is a fast-paced, easy to learn, luck-of-the-draw card game. Try as you might to have a strategy, if the right cards don’t come up, there’s not much you can do (but maybe I’m just a sore loser).
I spent a little too long researching what the name means, and no one really knows. But it’s probably to do with the sky (duh!) which has nothing to do with the game. Whoever named this game must have had their head in the clouds! The sky’s the limit (actually, 100 is).
Each player starts with a 4x3 grid of 12 facedown cards (4 columns with 3 rows). The rest of the cards are placed in a facedown pile in the middle (the draw pile), and the top card is turned over on a separate pile (the discard pile). Each card has a number from -2 to 12, and your end of round score is the total of all your cards, so you’re aiming to get low-scoring cards in your grid.
The aim of the game is to score the least points when you add up the total of your cards at the end of each round. You play as many rounds as it takes for someone to score over 100, which triggers the end of the game. The winner is the person who has scored the least.
Players take turns, choosing a card from the discard pile or the draw pile.
The discard pile
You can draw from the discard pile and choose to place the card in your grid, removing the existing card and adding that to the discard pile instead. You can replace any card from your grid, whether it’s face down or face up. At the start, your cards will all be face-down so you have to choose a random card which may or may not play in your favour. Sometimes you may hand over a low card to the next player, and depending on how competitive you are, this can be a bit crushing!
Draw pile
If you don’t want to draw from the discard pile, you can instead choose to draw a card from the draw pile. This pile is face down, so you don’t know what you’ll draw. If you like the card, the rules are the same as above: you add it to your grid, either replacing a face up or face down card, and the replaced card goes in the discard pile.
If you don’t want to play the card from the draw pile, you place that card straight onto the discard pile, and instead choose to reveal any facedown card in your grid. This allows you to play a bit more strategically, replacing higher numbers with lower numbers and keeping lower numbers in your grid.
When the stars align
There is a fun rule that allows you to remove a vertical column of 3 cards when they are all revealed and are the same number. This adds an interesting dynamic to gameplay as you may not want to place one of your cards on the discard pile, even if it’s high scoring, if it means the next player can remove a full column of cards.
When you remove a column, it’s gone for the rest of the round which means you don’t score for those 3 cards. Generally, this is a great move. However, it does mean that sometimes you can score less by keeping cards than by removing them. For example, you wouldn’t want to remove a column of three -2 cards, as if they were placed in different columns, you would -6 points for those cards at the end of the round.
This rule means that players may try to collect higher scoring cards in order to remove a column. But, be warned that this doesn’t always work out, and you could be left with high scoring cards at the end of the round.
Endings
The end of the round is triggered when every card in a player’s grid is faceup. All other players get one final turn. After the final player has taken their turn, all players reveal any facedown cards. Then, everyone totals up their cards, which is your score for the round. Unless a player's total score is more than 100, you play another round. If a player has scored more than 100, the game ends, and the player who has scored least is crowned the winner.
Final thoughts
Skyjo is a great game for groups, and anyone can get stuck in, even if people aren’t that into games. It’s easy to learn, fast-paced and is a fairly quick game. The luck of the draw can be a bit frustrating at times, as there is no way to bring it back if the right cards aren’t coming up. That being said, it can be quite an addictive game, as in my experience, you either want to continue your lucky streak or try and improve your game. Overall, it’s a game I’d recommend if you’re looking for something light-hearted, fun and reasonably competitive.
