Phase 10 Rules: All 10 Phases and How to Play

Phase 10 is a rummy-style card game with a twist: everyone works through the same ten challenges, one per hand, and you only move on when you complete your current phase. It was created by Kenneth Johnson in 1982 and is now published by Mattel, the makers of UNO. It's easy enough for children and still tense in the last few phases, when one missing card can cost you a whole hand.

The goal

Be the first player to complete all 10 phases. If two or more players complete Phase 10 in the same hand, the one with the lowest score wins.

What's in the deck

Sets, runs and colours

Every phase is made of one or two of these groups:

• A set is cards of the same number, in any colours. A set of 3 could be 7-7-7.
• A run is cards in numerical order, in any colours. A run of 4 could be 3-4-5-6. Runs do not wrap around: 11-12-1-2 isn't a run.
• A colour phase is cards of the same colour, in any numbers.

The 10 phases

Everyone starts on Phase 1. Write each player's current phase on the score sheet, because players soon end up on different phases.

Setting up

1. Choose a dealer. Shuffle and deal 10 cards to each player, face down.
2. Put the rest of the deck face down as the draw pile.
3. Turn over the top card to start the discard pile. If it's a Skip, the first player loses their turn.

The player to the dealer's left goes first. The deal passes to the left each hand.

How a turn works

1. Draw one card: the top card of the draw pile or the top card of the discard pile. You can never pick up a Skip.
2. Lay down your phase if you have all the cards for it (optional on that turn, but you'll want to do it as soon as you can).
3. Hit if you have already laid down your phase this hand (see below).
4. Discard one card onto the discard pile.

Laying down a phase

When you have all the cards for your phase, lay them face up in front of you. You must lay down the whole phase at once: for Phase 2, both the set of 3 and the run of 4 in the same turn. You may use more cards than required, for example a set of 4 when you only need a set of 3.

You can complete only one phase per hand.

Hitting

Once your phase is on the table, on later turns you can get rid of cards by hitting: adding them to any phase that is already down, yours or anyone else's.

• To a set, add cards of the same number.
• To a run, add cards that continue the sequence at either end.
• To a colour phase, add cards of that colour.

You can only hit on your own turn, and only after you've laid down your own phase.

Wild and Skip cards

Wild cards can take the place of any number or any colour in a phase. A phase must always contain at least one numbered card, so you can't lay down a phase made only of Wilds. Once a Wild is played in a phase, it stays there for the rest of the hand.

Skip cards make another player lose their next turn. Playing a Skip counts as your discard and ends your turn. Under current rules you choose which player to skip, but you may not skip the same player two turns in a row. Skips can never be picked up from the discard pile and are never part of a phase.

Ending a hand

The hand ends as soon as one player goes out by getting rid of all their cards, by hitting and then discarding their last card.

• Players who completed their phase in this hand move on to the next phase.
• Players who didn't must try the same phase again in the next hand.

Scoring

After each hand, everyone except the player who went out adds up the cards still in their hand:

Cards that are already laid down don't count. Add each player's points to their running total. In Phase 10, low scores are good.

Winning

The first player to complete Phase 10 wins. If more than one player completes Phase 10 in the same hand, the one with the lowest total score wins. If they are still tied, those players play one more hand of Phase 10 as a tiebreaker.

Popular variations

• Even or odd phases: everyone plays only the even phases (2, 4, 6, 8, 10) or only the odd ones, for a shorter game.
• Choose your phase: you may complete the phases in any order, ticking them off on the score sheet.
• Skip everyone: in older rule sheets a Skip simply makes the next player lose a turn.

Tips

• Keep pairs early in Phase 1. Two sets of 3 come quickly if you hold several pairs.
• Don't discard what your opponents need. Watch which phase each player is on. If someone is on Phase 8 (one colour), don't feed them that colour.
• Save Wilds for the hard phases. Runs of 8 and 9 are much easier with one or two Wilds.
• Play Skips on the leader. Use them on whoever is closest to winning, or on the player about to go out.
• Get rid of high cards and Wilds once your phase is down. If someone else goes out, a Wild in your hand costs 25 points.

Common mistakes

• Laying down only part of a two-part phase.
• Hitting before laying down your own phase.
• Trying to pick up a Skip from the discard pile.
• Moving on to the next phase without having completed the current one.
• Counting the cards you laid down when scoring.

Phase 10 is a trademark of Mattel; Rulanza is independent and not affiliated with Mattel.