Skyjo score sheet
A free Skyjo score sheet, and how a round scores: add up every card left in your grid, face up or face down. Whoever ends the round needs the lowest score outright, or a score above 0 doubles. When anyone reaches 100, the lowest total wins.
- 2 to 8 players
- Cards from -2 to 12
- Ends at 100
- Lowest total wins
Tabletales is free on iPhone and iPad.
This is the real Scorepad, live: Jonas’s round going in with its minus cards. Tap any round to change it.
Skyjo
- BGG #1969
- 30 min
A light card game where everyone has a grid of twelve face-down cards and swaps in better ones to drive its total down. Rounds go on until someone reaches 100.
Year, players, time and rank from BoardGameGeek.
How to play Skyjo, in brief
Low numbers win in Skyjo. Each player keeps a grid of 12 cards, mostly face down, and swaps in lower ones; once anyone reaches 100, the lowest total wins.
- Lay out your gridDeal 12 cards face down to each player, in 4 columns of 3, and turn one up as the discard pile. Everyone flips 2 of theirs, and whoever’s 2 add up highest starts.
- Draw and swapTake the top discard or a card from the draw pile and swap it into your grid, discarding the card it replaces. If you drew from the pile, you can discard that card instead and flip one of yours.
- Finish the roundWhen someone has every card face up, everyone else gets one more turn. Then all cards are turned up and counted.
- Play to 100Deal again until someone reaches 100.
Every card counts. The one who ends it had better be lowest.
Your round score is the sum of every card left in your grid once they are all turned up, so minus cards can take it below zero, and the player who ended the round needs the lowest score of all.
What counts in a round
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Each card left in your gridFace up or face down, they all count | Its number |
| A -2 or -1Takes points off your round | -2, -1 |
| A column of three matching cardsThrown out as soon as it appears, even in the final reveal | 0 |
| Ending the round without the lowest scoreA tie counts as not lowest. Only a score above 0 doubles | Doubled |
- Reveal and add upWhen the round ends, turn every card face up and add up your grid. Minus cards take points off.
- Throw out matching columnsThree of the same number in one column leave the grid and score nothing, even if they only match in the final reveal.
- Check the player who ended itThey need the strictly lowest score of the round. If anyone ties or beats them, their score doubles, unless it is 0 or below.
- Stop at 100Add the round to each total. The game ends after the round in which anyone reaches 100, and the lowest total wins.
Round 6: Mara ends it, and her 9 doubles.
Going into round 6: You 74, Mara 64, Dev 77, Jonas 69. Mara turns up her last card and ends the round. Everyone else takes one more turn, then the grids are revealed. This is round 6 on the Scorepad above.
| Player | The cards left in each grid | Round |
|---|---|---|
| You | All 12 cards: 6 4 3 2 1 1 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -26 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 2 | 12 |
| Mara | Ended the round: 4 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 0 -1 -1 -2Her cards add to 9, but Jonas has 7, so it doubles: 9 + 9 | 18 |
| Dev | A 12 and an 8 still face down, then 5 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 -1 -212 + 8 + 5 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 - 1 - 2 | 31 |
| Jonas | Three 5s thrown out as a column, leaving 4 3 2 1 0 0 0 -1 -24 + 3 + 2 + 1 - 1 - 2 | 7 |
Minus cards and doubled rounds, kept straight.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. In Skyjo, type each player’s score at the end of every round, minus cards included. Tabletales keeps the running totals and flags whoever reaches 100.
- Pick Lowest winsEvery new game starts on Highest wins. Switch it once and the trophy sits on the smallest total, round after round.
- 100 is on the padSet Play to a score at 100. Whoever reaches it is flagged, so the table knows this round was the last, and the lowest total takes the game.
- Minus cards and doubles on the keypadType each round’s score, or type the grid as it reads (4 + 3 + 2 + 1 - 1 - 2) and Tabletales adds it up. There is no times key, so a doubled 9 goes in as 18 or 9 + 9.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo from the table. Each game gets a history: how often you play it, who with, and who holds the best score.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Skyjo, with its scores
Common Skyjo scoring mistakes
- Letting a tie off the hookThe player who ended the round needs the strictly lowest score. If someone ties them, their score still doubles.
- Doubling a zero or a minusOnly a score above 0 doubles. A round-ender on 0 or below keeps it as it is.
- Skipping the face-down cardsEvery card left in a grid counts at the end, and a column that only matches in the reveal is still thrown out.
- Crowning the first to 100Reaching 100 ends the game. The lowest total wins it.
Skyjo scoring, answered
- How do you score Skyjo?
- At the end of each round, add up every card left in your grid, face up or face down. Cards run from -2 to 12, so a round can score below zero.
- What happens if the player who ends a Skyjo round isn’t lowest?
- Their round score doubles, as long as it is above 0. A tie for lowest doubles it too: they need to be strictly lowest.
- When does a game of Skyjo end?
- After the round in which any player reaches 100 points. The player with the lowest total wins.
Skyjo score sheet
Print one for the table: eight players and fifteen rounds, with a running total beside every round and the doubling rule at the bottom.
Score another game
Some tables make throwing out a matching column optional, and some give the next round’s first turn to the last round’s winner instead of whoever ended it; neither changes how a round adds up. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against Magilano’s rulebook, RulesPal and regledujeu.fr. Skyjo is a trademark of Magilano. Tabletales is not affiliated with Magilano.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
Tabletales adds up every hand, then saves the whole night: the games, the scores, the photos and who was there.
