Best Games Like Skyjo (2026): 5 Card Games to Play Next

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Full details on our Affiliate Disclosure page.

Best games like Skyjo (2026) — Skyjo took over a lot of family tables with a simple formula: a grid of face-down cards, a race to the lowest score, and the delicious gamble of flipping one more card. Once you have played it a few dozen times, you will want something with the same easy, low-stress feel but a different twist. These five games are where Skyjo fans usually land next.

What Skyjo players love, and what to look for next

Skyjo’s appeal comes from three things: almost no rules to teach, a grid that slowly reveals itself, and the tension of deciding whether to swap a known card for an unknown one. Some players love the low-score race; others love the luck of the flip. The picks below each lean into one of those. If you have not played Skyjo yet, it is a card game for two to eight players with 150 cards valued from −2 to 12, and it plays in about thirty minutes.

1. Flip 7 — best next game for Skyjo fans

Players: 3 or more (ages 8+) · Price band: Under $10 (about $8) · Pick for: Best next game for Skyjo fans · See Flip 7 on Amazon

Flip 7 swaps the grid for a single row of cards. On your turn you take another card or stop. Each new number adds to your score for the round, but a duplicate busts you. Action and modifier cards add twists, and seven different numbers ends the round with a bonus. First to 200 wins.

It shares Skyjo’s “one more card” gamble but plays much faster, and it is cheap enough to buy as a stocking stuffer. Rules: how to play Flip 7.

Skip it if: you love Skyjo’s slow reveal and planning. Flip 7 is more impulsive.

2. Five Crowns — best rummy-style follow-up

Players: 2 to 7 (ages 8+) · Price band: Under $10 (about $10) · Pick for: Best rummy-style follow-up · See Five Crowns on Amazon

Five Crowns adds a fifth suit, stars, to a deck of 3s through kings, and it plays over eleven rounds. Round one deals three cards and threes are wild; each round deals one more card and moves the wild up a rank, until kings are wild in a thirteen-card final hand. Arrange your hand into books and runs to go out, and like Skyjo, the lowest score wins.

It feels familiar to anyone who knows rummy, and the rotating wild keeps every round fresh. Skyjo players appreciate the same low-score target and the dread of being caught holding big cards when someone goes out.

Skip it if: your group dislikes rummy. Flip 7 has no sets or runs.

3. Golf with a standard deck — best free version of the same idea

Players: 2 to 6 or more · Price band: $20–$30 (about $25) · Pick for: Best free version of the same idea · See Golf with a standard deck on Amazon

Skyjo is essentially a designed version of Golf. Each player lays out a grid of face-down cards (four or six, depending on the variant), flips two, and then draws and swaps to lower their total. Matching cards in a column cancel to zero, and when one player has all cards face up, everyone else gets one more turn.

If you already love Skyjo, you can play Golf anywhere with a standard deck. Our Golf card game guide covers four-card, six-card and nine-card versions. A Bicycle 12-pack means you always have a deck for a big group.

Skip it if: you want Skyjo’s negative cards and bright art. Golf is the plain classic.

4. Phase 10 — best for a long family night

Players: 2 to 6 (ages 7+) · Price band: $10–$20 (about $12) · Pick for: Best for a long family night · See Phase 10 on Amazon

Phase 10 is a rummy-type game where each player works through ten phases in order: two sets of three, then a set and a run, and so on. You must complete your current phase in a hand to move on, so some players fall behind, and skip and wild cards shake things up. The first player to finish phase ten wins.

It shares Skyjo’s numbered cards and easy turns, but a full game can last an hour or more, which suits a long holiday afternoon. Compare it with a close rival in our Phase 10 vs Skip-Bo guide.

Skip it if: you want a quick game. Phase 10 is the longest pick on this list.

5. Cover Your Assets — best for a bigger, chattier table

Players: 2 to 6 (ages 7+) · Price band: $10–$20 (about $20) · Pick for: Best for a bigger, chattier table · See Cover Your Assets on Amazon

Cover Your Assets is a set-collecting card game. You make pairs of matching assets, like jewelry or a classic car, and stack them face up. Other players can steal your top pair by playing a matching card, and you can defend with the same. The first player to a million dollars wins.

It keeps Skyjo’s friendly, anyone-can-win feel but adds more table talk and playful stealing. Families who like Skyjo at six players often find this one fits even better.

Skip it if: your table dislikes taking from each other. Five Crowns is gentler.

Compare the games like Skyjo

Game	Players	Feels like Skyjo because…	Price
Flip 7	3+	One-more-card gamble	about $8
Five Crowns	2–7	Lowest score wins	about $10
Golf (standard deck)	2–6+	Grid, swaps and column matches	about $25
Phase 10	2–6	Numbered cards and easy turns	about $12
Cover Your Assets	2–6	Light rules for big family tables	about $20

Should you get Skyjo itself?

If you have only played Skyjo at someone else’s house, Skyjo is still the best version of this style of game: bright cards, a deck that handles eight players and scoring that works for kids and adults. Then add Flip 7 for quick rounds and Five Crowns for nights when you want a little more strategy. For more ideas, see our best family card games.

Games like Skyjo questions

What game is most similar to Skyjo?

Golf, the classic card game, is the closest. Among boxed games, Flip 7 and Five Crowns are the usual next buys.

Is Skyjo the same as Golf?

They are very similar. Skyjo uses a custom deck with negative cards and a twelve-card grid, while Golf uses a standard deck and smaller grids.

What is a good game like Skyjo for two players?

Five Crowns and Phase 10 both work with two. Flip 7 needs at least three.