Skip-Bo: card game about building number sequences for 2 to 6 players

Skip-Bo is a card game about number sequences. At the start everyone gets their own face-down stockpile with the top card turned up. The goal is to be the first to get rid of that entire pile. In the middle of the table there are up to four shared building piles, where cards are played in ascending order from 1 to 12.

On your turn you draw up your hand and try to play cards from your hand, your stockpile or your own discard piles onto the building piles. Skip-Bo cards are wild and can stand in for any number. Mattel describes it as a patience-style game for the family. The skill lies in organising your discard piles so you can shed several cards in a row at the right moment without setting others up.

According to Mattel, Skip-Bo suits 2 to 6 players aged 7 and up. A game takes about 20 minutes, but you can shorten it by dealing fewer stockpile cards at the start. The box holds 162 cards and the rules.

Worth knowing: Skip-Bo needs some table space, because besides the shared piles each player lays out their own discard piles. The cards only show numbers, so no reading is required, but children should be comfortable counting to 12. With six players and full stockpiles a game can run noticeably longer than 20 minutes.