Phase 10 Rules: How to Play, With All 10 Phases

The 10 phases of Phase 10

Every player starts on Phase 1. Make your phase and you move to the next one in the following round. Phases always go in this order:

Here is what each phase looks like on the table. Each color also has its own shape, so you can tell the cards apart without relying on color:

• Red: circle
• Blue: square
• Green: triangle
• Yellow: diamond

1. 1Phase 1: 2 sets of 3

   Two groups of three matching numbers. (6 cards)

   Set 1

   Set 2

   Tip: Keep pairs. Any pair can become a set with one more card or a Wild.

2. 2Phase 2: 1 set of 3 + 1 run of 4

   Three matching numbers, plus four numbers in a row. (7 cards)

   1 set of 3

   1 run of 4

   Tip: Runs are harder than sets. Build the run first and the set usually follows.

3. 3Phase 3: 1 set of 4 + 1 run of 4

   Four matching numbers, plus four numbers in a row. (8 cards)

   1 set of 4

   1 run of 4

   Tip: Hold on to Wilds for the set of 4. It is the part that stalls most players.

4. 4Phase 4: 1 run of 7

   Seven numbers in a row. (7 cards)

   Tip: Middle numbers (4 to 9) fit the most runs. Throw away 1s and 12s first.

5. 5Phase 5: 1 run of 8

   Eight numbers in a row. (8 cards)

   Tip: A Wild can fill a gap in the middle of a run, not just the ends.

6. 6Phase 6: 1 run of 9

   Nine numbers in a row. (9 cards)

   Tip: With 10 cards and a run of 9, you only have one spare card. Discard doubles.

7. 7Phase 7: 2 sets of 4

   Two groups of four matching numbers. (8 cards)

   Set 1

   Set 2

   Tip: Watch the discard pile. If others throw 9s, collect something else.

8. 8Phase 8: 7 cards of 1 color

   Seven cards of the same color, any numbers. (7 cards)

   Tip: Pick the color you hold most of after the deal, then stick with it.

9. 9Phase 9: 1 set of 5 + 1 set of 2

   Five matching numbers, plus a pair. (7 cards)

   1 set of 5

   1 set of 2

   Tip: Each number comes in 8 copies (two per color), so a set of 5 is possible but Wilds help a lot.

10. 10Phase 10: 1 set of 5 + 1 set of 3

    Five matching numbers, plus three matching numbers. (8 cards)

    1 set of 5

    1 set of 3

    Tip: The first player to complete Phase 10 ends the game. If two finish in the same round, the lower score wins.

Want this list on the table? Print the one-page Phase 10 cheat sheet. Its big type is easy to read from across the table. Check a hand against any phase, and see how hard each one is: the 10 phases of Phase 10.

The deck: 108 cards

• 96 numbered cards: 1 to 12 in four colors (red, blue, green, yellow), two of each. So there are eight 7s in the deck, two of them blue.
• 8 Wild cards (worth 25 points if they are stuck in your hand).
• 4 Skip cards (worth 15 points in your hand).
• Boxes printed since 2018 also hold 2 phase reference cards, so the box says 110 cards. You don’t play with those two.
• Paper and a pencil for the score, or our free Phase 10 score sheet.

How many cards each player gets, and what is left: how many cards are dealt in Phase 10.

Sets, runs and colors

Every phase is built from three kinds of groups:

• Set: cards with the same number, any colors. Three 7s is a set of 3. Both sets in Phase 1 may even be the same number, like three 10s and three more 10s.
• Run: four or more numbers in a row, any colors. 3-4-5-6 is a run of 4. Runs stop at 12, so 11-12-1-2 is not a run.
• Color: cards that are all one color, in any order (Phase 8 only).

The deal

1. Pick a dealer. The dealer shuffles and deals 10 cards face down to each player.
2. Put the rest of the deck face down in the middle. That is the draw pile.
3. Turn its top card face up next to it to start the discard pile.
4. The player on the dealer’s left goes first. Play goes clockwise. After each round, the deal passes to the left.

First card a Skip or a Wild? If the first face-up card is a Skip, the first player loses their first turn. If it is a Wild, the first player may take it.

Your turn in 4 steps

1. Draw one card, from the draw pile or the top of the discard pile.
2. Lay down your phase, if your hand holds all of it. You need the whole phase at once. You can’t put down half and finish it later.
3. Hit, if your phase is already down (see below).
4. Discard one card face up on the discard pile. This ends your turn.

You can make only one phase per round. Phases must go in order: you can’t jump to Phase 4 because your hand happens to hold a run of 7.

Hitting: getting rid of leftover cards

Once your own phase is on the table, you can get rid of more cards by hitting: adding them to any phase already laid down, yours or anyone else’s.

• You can start hitting as soon as your phase is down, even on the same turn.
• You can only hit on your own turn.
• Hit as many cards as you like, on as many phases as you like, as long as they fit.

Wild cards and Skip cards

Wild cards

• A Wild stands in for any number or any color.
• Use as many Wilds as you like in a phase, but every phase needs at least one numbered card.
• Once a Wild is laid down in a phase, it stays there for the rest of the round. Nobody can swap it out.
• A Wild left in your hand costs 25 points. Play it.

Skip cards

• Discard a Skip and choose a player. That player loses their next turn. Playing the Skip is your discard and ends your turn.
• A Skip can never be picked up from the discard pile and can never be part of a phase.
• You can’t skip the same player two turns in a row. They get one normal turn first.
• A Skip left in your hand costs 15 points.

More examples, including Wilds on phases 4 and 8: Skip and Wild cards in Phase 10.

Going out and moving up

After you make your phase, try to get rid of every card, by hitting, by discarding your last card, or both. The first player with no cards goes out, and the round ends for everyone at once.

• Made your phase this round? You move up to the next phase, whether you went out or not.
• Didn’t make it? You try the same phase again next round. So one player can be on Phase 6 while another is still on Phase 3.

Phase 10 scoring

Points count against you, so low is good. The player who went out scores 0. Everyone else adds up the cards still in their hand. Cards already laid down on the table don’t count.

Keep a running total for each player. Our Phase 10 score sheets have a column for each player’s phase and points. The online score keeper adds it up for you.

Who wins Phase 10

The first player to complete Phase 10 wins, once that round is over. If two or more players complete Phase 10 in the same round, the one with the fewest total points wins. If they are tied on points too, those players replay Phase 10, and the first to go out wins.

Shorter games and 2 players

The official rules list two shorter versions:

• Ten rounds: everyone moves up a phase every round, made or not. After 10 rounds, the lowest total score wins.
• Fewer phases: agree before you start to play to Phase 5 or Phase 7. Everything else stays the same. Our score keeper has a setting for this.

Two players: the rules are the same. A Skip simply makes your opponent miss a turn, so you play twice in a row. You still can’t skip them two turns running. A two-player deal laid out: Phase 10 with 2 players.