Last Updated on April 9, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

Skyjo Action adds a fun twist to the classic Skyjo game, blending strategic card play with unpredictable action cards and special star cards. Your goal is simple: keep your total points as low as possible while navigating through the chaotic, fast-paced turns. The exciting mix of swapping, drawing, and using action cards ensures every game is different and full of surprises.

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How to Play SKYJO Action

Components

120 Playing Cards
30 Action Cards
Score Pad
Instructions

Objective

The goal of Skyjo Action is to have the lowest total points by the end of the game.

Setup

Separate the cards into two decks: the playing deck (which includes number and star cards) and the action deck (which includes action cards). Shuffle both decks separately.

Deal twelve cards from the playing deck to each player, face down. Place the remaining cards of the playing deck face down on the table and flip the top card to start the discard pile. Then, take the top four action cards from the action deck and place them face up in a row in the middle of the table. The remaining action cards go face down, and you flip the top card to start the action card discard pile.

Each player arranges their twelve cards in a 4×3 grid, keeping their cards face down. Then, players randomly choose two cards to flip face up. The player with the highest total of their two revealed cards starts the first round. Play proceeds clockwise.

Gameplay

On each turn, players choose from one of three actions:

Draw a Playing Card
- You can choose to draw either the top card from the draw pile or the top card from the discard pile. After drawing, you have two options:
  - Swap the drawn card with one of the cards in your grid (you can replace a face-up or face-down card). You cannot look at face-down cards before swapping them.
  - If you do not want to swap, you can discard the card and flip one of your face-down cards.
Draw an Action Card
- Choose one of the four face-up action cards or draw from the top of the action card pile. You can only hold action cards in your layout. You may use them later or discard them, but they are worth 10 points if kept until the end of the round.
Play or Discard an Action Card
- You can use an action card to perform its special action, or you can discard it. Discarded action cards go to the action discard pile. You cannot play or discard action cards on your final turn once the round ends.

Star Cards

Star cards let you take an action card. If you activate a star card, choose one of the four face-up action cards or draw from the top of the action card deck. Star cards have no points but can impact the gameplay. If you swap a star card, it does not activate.

Removing Rows and Columns

At the end of each turn, or before scoring, check your rows and columns to see if all cards in any row or column match. If they do, discard all cards in that row or column. You can choose which cards to discard. If you complete a row or column with only star cards, they can be discarded or kept for scoring. Rows or columns with all star cards score negative points at the end of the round.

End of Round

The round ends when all cards in a player’s layout are flipped face up. The player who flipped their last card triggers the end of the round. The other players get one final turn to improve their score. After all players have finished, total up the points from the cards in your layout, including action cards (10 points each) and star cards (0 points). Write down each player’s score.

Scoring

The player who triggered the end of the round compares their score to the other players. If their score is tied or better than at least one player’s, they double their score. Players who end with 100 or more points finish the game, and the player with the lowest total score wins.