Phase 10 rules

Quick start

1. Deal 10 cards to each player from the 108-card deck. Put the rest face down as the draw pile, and turn its top card face up to start the discard pile.
2. On your turn, draw the top card of the draw pile or of the discard pile. End your turn by discarding 1 card.
3. Everyone starts on Phase 1: 2 sets of 3, such as three 7s and three 10s. When you hold your whole phase, lay it face up on the table during your turn.
4. After your phase is down, get rid of your other cards by hitting. That means adding cards that fit to any phase on the table.
5. The round ends when one player has no cards left. Everyone else scores points for the cards still in their hand. A low score is better.
6. Players who laid down their phase move to the next one. The rest repeat theirs. Whoever completes Phase 10 first wins when that round ends. Ties go to the fewest points.

Rule sheet and score sheet

Print the whole game on one page, and a score sheet made for Phase 10. Both are free PDFs for Letter paper.

Download the rule sheet

PDF, 1 page. The whole game on one page.

Download the score sheet

PDF, 1 page, landscape. Laid out for Phase 10.

Setup

2 to 6 players, each playing alone. The rules are the same for every number of players.

You need: One Phase 10 deck of 108 cards.

• Each color has 24 number cards, so the deck holds 8 of every number.
• The box also holds reference cards that list the 10 phases. They are not part of the deck. The rule sheet counts 2 of them, which is why it says 110 cards.
• In older decks the Wild cards come in all four colors and the Skip cards are blue. Those colors mean nothing in play.
• Some editions change a color. The 40th anniversary deck has orange cards in place of blue ones.

1. Choose a dealer. Set out the reference cards and get paper and a pencil for the score.
2. The dealer shuffles and deals 10 cards face down to each player. Keep your hand hidden.
3. Put the rest face down as the draw pile. Turn its top card face up beside it to start the discard pile.
4. The player on the dealer’s left goes first. Play moves clockwise.

Each player’s hand

Draw pile

The rest of the deck, face down

Discard pile

1 card, face up

• If the card turned up to start the discard pile is a Skip card, the first player loses their first turn.
• If that card is a Wild card, the first player may take it.
• The rules leave the choice of the first dealer to you.

How to play

Phase 10 is played in rounds. In each round you try to complete the one phase you are on, then get rid of the rest of your cards.

1. Take your turn

   Draw 1 card from the top of the draw pile or the discard pile. If you hold your whole phase, lay it down. If your phase is down, you may add cards to phases on the table. Discard 1 card to end your turn.

   • Only the top card of the discard pile can be taken, and never a Skip card. A Wild card on top can be taken.

2. Know what your phase needs

   Everyone starts on Phase 1. A set is 2 or more cards of the same number. A run is 4 or more cards with numbers in a row and no gaps, such as 4, 5, 6, 7. Colors do not matter in sets or runs. Phase 8 needs 7 cards of one color, any numbers.

   • When a phase asks for 2 sets, both can be the same number. Three 10s and three more 10s make a legal Phase 1.

   A set of 3

   

   Same number, any colors

   A run of 4

   

   Numbers in a row with no gaps, any colors

   7 cards of 1 color

   

   Same color, any numbers

3. Lay down your phase

   When you hold your whole phase, lay it face up on the table during your turn. Phases must be made in order from 1 to 10, and only one per round.

   • You cannot lay down part of a phase now and the rest on a later turn.
   • You get credit for the phase as soon as it is on the table. It does not matter who ends the round.
   • Extra cards that fit your phase can be added on the same turn. With three 5s, three 7s and two more 5s, all eight cards can go down at once.
   • Cards laid down for one phase never count toward a later one. A run of 9 laid down for Phase 4 does not also cover Phases 5 and 6.

4. Use Wild cards

   A Wild card stands for any number or any color. A phase can hold as many Wild cards as you like if it has at least one number card. Once laid down, a Wild card stays put until the round ends.

   • With a 3, a 4 and a 6, a Wild card can be the 5 that completes a run of 4.
   • The rules ask for one number card in the whole phase. They do not ask for one in every set or run.

5. Play Skip cards

   Discard a Skip card and choose any player to lose their next turn. A skipped player must get a normal turn before being skipped again. Skip cards can never be used in a phase or taken from the discard pile.

   • Playing a Skip card counts as your discard, so it ends your turn.
   • You can hold a Skip card and play it on a later turn.

6. Hit to get rid of cards

   Once your phase is down, you can hit on your turn. To hit, add cards from your hand to any phase on the table, yours or another player’s. Each card must fit: the same number on a set, the next number on a run, the same color on a color phase.

   • You may hit on the same turn you lay down your phase, with as many cards as you can.
   • A run can grow at either end. On a run of 3, 4, 5, 6 you could add a 2, or a 7 and then an 8.
   • A Wild card can be used for any hit.
   • After your phase is down, your turns go on as before: draw first, hit if you can, then discard.

7. Go out to end the round

   The round ends as soon as one player has no cards left. This is called going out. Your last cards can go by hitting, by discarding, or both. A final discard is not required.

   • Nobody can go out before laying down their phase, because hitting is not allowed until then.

8. Score, then deal again

   The player who went out scores 0. Everyone else scores the cards left in their hand. Players who laid down their phase move to the next one, and the rest repeat theirs. Shuffle, and the deal passes left.

Example: laying down Phase 2

You are on Phase 2, which needs 1 set of 3 and 1 run of 4. You draw and now hold the 11 cards shown. The two 9s and the Wild card make the set. The 4, 5, 6 and 7 make the run. You hold the whole phase, so you lay both groups face up. Now that your phase is down, you may hit on this same turn, and the green 8 goes on the end of your run. That leaves a 12, a 2 and a Skip card. Discard one of them to end your turn. If it is the Skip card, choose a player to lose their next turn. Next round you play Phase 3, even if someone else goes out first.

Your hand after drawing

Laid down: a set of 3

The Wild card stands for a 9

Laid down: a run of 4

Colors can be mixed

Your hit

Added to the end of your run

Still in your hand

Discard one to end your turn

Scoring

In Phase 10 a low score is good. The player who goes out scores 0. Every other player scores the cards still in their hand. Cards on the table never count.

• Laying down Phase 10 does not end the game on the spot. The round is played until someone goes out, so more than one player can complete Phase 10 in it.
• If the players who completed Phase 10 are also tied on points, they replay Phase 10 against each other. The first to go out wins.

The first player to complete Phase 10 wins when that round ends. If two or more complete it in the same round, the one with the fewest total points wins.

Use paper and a pencil. Scores carry over from round to round, so keep a running total of points for each player. Write down which phase each player is on as well.

A worked example: counting the cards you are caught with

You are on Phase 4 and never completed your run of 7. Another player goes out while you still hold all 10 cards: a 1, a 3, a 4, a 7, an 8, a 9, an 11, a 12, a Skip card and a Wild card. You add 90 points to your total and try Phase 4 again next round.

1 to 9: 5 points each

10 to 12: 10 points each

Skip: 15 points

Wild: 25 points

What happened	Points
6 cards numbered 1 to 9, at 5 points each	30
2 cards numbered 10 to 12, at 10 points each	20
1 Skip card, at 15 points	15
1 Wild card, at 25 points	25
Your points for the round	90

Scorekeeper

Tracks the phase each player is on and their running points. After each round, mark who completed their phase and add the points left in each hand. Quick buttons add 5, 10, 15 or 25 points. The first player to complete Phase 10 wins when that round ends, and a tie goes to the fewest points. It works in this browser, keeps the game if the page reloads, and needs no account.

Other ways to play

House rules and other versions

Ten rounds, lowest score wins

Play exactly 10 rounds. Every player moves to the next phase each round, whether or not they completed the last one, so round 1 is Phase 1 for everyone and round 10 is Phase 10. The lowest total score after 10 rounds wins. This variation is in the official rules.

Shorter game

Before you start, agree on how many phases a player must complete to win, such as 5 or 7. All other rules stay the same. This variation is in the official rules too.

Even phases only

Play only the even-numbered phases: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. All other rules stay the same. An older edition of the official rules lists this variation. The rule sheet we checked does not.

One Skip per trip around the table

An older edition of the official rules limits Skip cards another way: only one Skip card may be played on each player per trip around the table.

Skip card in front of the player

The 40th anniversary edition has you place the Skip card in front of the player you choose. On their lost turn, all they do is move it to the discard pile. Nobody can be given a Skip card while one is already in front of them.

Rule questions

Words used in Phase 10

Phase

The combination of cards you must collect and lay down in a round. There are 10 phases, and you complete them in order.

Set

Two or more cards of the same number. The colors can be mixed.

Run

Four or more cards with numbers in a row and no gaps, such as 3, 4, 5, 6. The colors can be mixed.

One color

Cards that are all the same color, with any numbers. Phase 8 asks for 7 of them.

Round

One deal of the cards, played until a player goes out. Older editions of the rules call this a hand.

Draw pile

The face-down stack left after the deal. You may take its top card to start your turn.

Discard pile

The face-up pile beside the draw pile. You may take its top card to start your turn, and your turn ends with a card placed on it.

Lay down

To put your whole phase face up on the table. This completes the phase.

Hit

To add a card from your hand to a phase that is already on the table. You can hit only after your own phase is down.

Go out

To get rid of the last card in your hand. This ends the round.

Wild card

A card that can stand for any number or any color. It costs 25 points if it is left in your hand.

Skip card

A card you discard to make a player of your choice lose their next turn. It costs 15 points if it is left in your hand.

Reference card

A card that lists the 10 phases. It is not part of the deck.

What you need

• A Phase 10 deckThe 108 cards and the reference cards. It is sold in a box or in a tin.Find it on Amazon (A Phase 10 deck, opens in a new tab)
• A Phase 10 score padOptional. Plain paper and a pencil work as well.Find it on Amazon (A Phase 10 score pad, opens in a new tab)

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