How to Play Flip 7 (Rules, Scoring and Action Cards)

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Flip 7 is for three or more players, ages 8+, and takes about 20 minutes per the box. Don’t have a copy? Check Flip 7 on Amazon. These rules follow the published rulebook, as reproduced on RulesPal and Dized.

What’s in the Deck

How a Round Works

1. The dealer deals one card face up to each player. If an action card comes up during the deal, resolve it right away, then keep dealing until everyone has a card.
2. Go around the table. On your turn, either hit (take another card into your row) or stay (bank your row and sit out the rest of the round).
3. Bust on a duplicate. If a number card matches one already in your row, you’re out and score zero this round.
4. The round ends when every player has stayed or busted, or when someone flips seven different numbers.
5. Score, then pass the deck to the left. That player becomes the new dealer.

Action Cards

Whoever draws an action card chooses which player still in the round gets it, and that can be themselves.

• Freeze: the player banks their points now and is out for the round.
• Flip Three: the player must take the next three cards, one at a time. A Second Chance revealed during it can be kept. Another Freeze or Flip Three revealed during it waits until all three cards are drawn, and only happens if the player hasn’t busted.
• Second Chance: cancels one bust. The duplicate and the Second Chance are both discarded, and your turn carries on. You may only hold one. If you get a second, give it to another player still in the round or discard it. Unused Second Chance cards are discarded at the end of the round.

Scoring, in Order

This is the rule people get wrong most often.

1. Add up your number cards.
2. Double that total if you have the ×2 card.
3. Add your + modifier cards.
4. Add 15 if you flipped seven different numbers.

An Example Round

Here’s how one round plays out with three players, Ana, Ben and Cal.

1. The deal. Ana gets a 9, Ben a 4, Cal a Freeze. Cal must play the Freeze at once. He gives it to Ana, who banks 9 points and is out for the round. Cal is then dealt a replacement card, a 7.
2. Ben hits. He flips a 12, so his row is 4 and 12 (16 points). He hits again: a ×2. Modifiers don’t count toward busting, so he’s safe.
3. Cal hits. He flips a Flip Three and gives it to Ben, who now must take three cards. Ben flips a 6, a 2 and another 12. The 12 matches, so Ben busts and scores zero.
4. Cal stays on his 7. The round ends because everyone has stayed or busted.
5. Scores: Ana 9, Ben 0, Cal 7. The deck passes left and Ana deals the next round.

Ben’s round is the lesson: a 12 is the riskiest card to hold, and handing a Flip Three to a player with a high card is often the best use of it.

Winning

At the end of any round where at least one player has 200 points or more, the game ends and the highest total wins. The rulebook doesn’t give a tiebreaker, so agree one before you start, such as playing one more round.

Common Questions at the Table

• Can I stay before taking a second card? Yes. Staying is always allowed on your turn.
• Do modifier cards count toward the seven? No. Only number cards count.

Want to practice first? Board Game Arena hosts a free online version. Once you know the rules, the real question is when to stop. Our Flip 7 bust odds guide works that out from the deck. For our verdict on the game, read the Flip 7 review, and see the Flip 7 versions guide before buying. More card games that teach this fast are on our best card games for kids and best games for groups lists.

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