How to play Phase 10

A Phase 10 deck: 96 number cards (1 to 12, two of each in four colors), 8 Wild cards, and 4 Skip cards. Two to six players, plus pen and paper for scores.

Be the first to complete all ten phases. If two players finish Phase 10 in the same hand, the lower score wins.

1. 1Shuffle and deal ten cards to each player.
2. 2Place the rest face down as the draw pile and turn the top card face up to start the discard pile.
3. 3Everyone starts on Phase 1.

1. 1The ten phases are: 1) two sets of 3; 2) one set of 3 and one run of 4; 3) one set of 4 and one run of 4; 4) one run of 7; 5) one run of 8; 6) one run of 9; 7) two sets of 4; 8) seven cards of one color; 9) one set of 5 and one set of 2; 10) one set of 5 and one set of 3.
2. 2On your turn, draw the top card of the draw pile or the discard pile, then end by discarding one card.
3. 3When you hold every card your phase needs, lay it face up in front of you before discarding. You may complete only one phase per hand.
4. 4Once your phase is down, on later turns you may “hit”: add single cards to any laid-down phase—yours or another player’s—as long as they fit.
5. 5A Wild can stand in for any number or color. A Skip, when discarded, makes a chosen player lose their next turn.

• A hand ends when one player gets rid of all their cards. Everyone who completed their phase moves on to the next one; the rest try the same phase again.
• Players score penalty points for cards still in hand: 5 for each 1–9, 10 for each 10–12, 15 for a Skip, and 25 for a Wild.
• The game ends after the hand in which someone completes Phase 10.

• Players may agree to do the phases in any order, tracking which ones they have finished.
• Short game: play only the even- or odd-numbered phases.
• Phase 10 Masters edition adds “save” cards that let you keep part of your hand between rounds.

• Hold Wilds for the hard phases—runs of 8 and 9 and the color phase.
• Watch what others pick up from the discard pile, and avoid feeding the numbers they need.
• Once you are down, shed high cards first so a sudden finish costs you less.