Skip-Bo was a card game with a twist. It fell under the category of get-rid-of-your-cards-before-everyone-else games but you only saw those cards one at a time as you turned each face up. The game could be played by two to six people, individually or partnered and more players meant a longer game. Long, long game.

Two Texans created Skip-Bo in the 1960s and marketed a boxed version in 1967. The set contained a deck of 144 cards, numbered 1 through 12, and 18 “Skip-Bo” cards, which were wild. For games involving up to four players, each player was dealt 30 cards; 20 cards were dealt for games with over four players. These cards were the “stock” pile and getting rid of them was the object of the game. The remaining cards formed the “draw” pile, from which each player drew five cards. For the duration of the game, a player would always keep five cards in his hand, using the draw pile to replenish. Once the game got under way, four “build” piles were started between the players; all players could use these build piles, adding cards to them in numerical sequence. The first card on a build pile was the number 1, then 2, etc. until the 12 card completed that build pile and it could be reshuffled into the draw pile. Lastly, each player had four of his own “discard” piles (enough with the piles already!) where he could discard cards in any order and could play the top-most ones. A player could add to the build piles using the cards in his hand, the top cards on his discard piles, or the top card on his stock pile.

The player to the left of the dealer made the first move by drawing five cards from the draw pile. If any of these cards—or his stock pile top card—was a wild Skip-Bo or a number 1, that player could start a build pile in the middle of the play area. The player started as many build piles as he could and added to them until he had no more suitable cards. Then he discarded one card from his hand—that got his discard piles started—drew as many cards as were needed to put five cards back in his hand, and ended his turn. The game continued with other players taking turns until one of them finished his stock pile, at which point he received 5 points for each card remaining in his opponents’ stock piles and a 25 point bonus for winning the game. The first person to accrue 500 points won.

Skip-Bo games could be incredibly boring (only two players) or lively and competitive (a lot of players who yell and throw things). Some people played nice sedate games with their grandparents, while others had knockdown battles with siblings and friends. You don’t have to yell “Skip-Bo!” when you win but it sure makes things more interesting.