Fancy learning how to play ‘the greatest card game of all time’? Eric Olsen’s incredible creation has already been nominated for two awards at the 18th Annual Gaming Awards by The Dice Tower, and for good reason! For all our card game connoisseurs out there, you’ll know that this game is not just about strategy, but about pushing your luck with every card you flip. It came in hot on our new releases page with plenty of interest as soon as it hit the market. We’ll teach you how to play Flip 7, the rules you have to follow, and hopefully give you a lucky boost for your next round!
What is Flip 7?
Designed for ages 8+ and 3 or more players, this intense card game is made to get your heart pounding, your mind racing, and your fingers counting to keep up with your score. This isn't just any deck of cards! In your Flip 7 card deck, you’ll find only one number 1 card, two number 2 cards, three number 3 cards and so on, all the way up to twelve 12 cards, with 94 cards in total - there’s even one zero card. There are also a bunch of score modifiers and action cards that can help you improve your score or get in your opponents' way as you all race to be the first to get 200 points.
How to play Flip 7 - gameplay and rules
The objective
When playing Flip 7, your primary objective is to get to a score of 200 while fighting your opponents to keep their score down. You do this by totalling the numbers on the cards you have in front of you (plus your Modifier cards, but more on that later) at the end of each round, and by avoiding going bust, which happens when you get at least two duplicate numbers on your cards in front of you at the same time.
How to set up Flip 7
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Have a pen and paper ready to track your scores
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Shuffle the entire deck.
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Pick a dealer for the round - they’ll also get to play, they just have to make sure everyone has the same number of cards to start the game.
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The dealer will deal one card, face-up, to each player. If any action cards come up in the first deal, the game is paused and those action cards have to be resolved, or used, immediately. Then keep dealing until everyone has one card.
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Now the game can really begin!
Gameplay
The dealer will now start the round by going around every player and asking them the ultimate question: hit or stay? If you choose to hit, the dealer will give you another card, face-up. If this card is a duplicate, then unfortunately, you’ve gone bust and you’re out of the round! Although you can only go bust from number cards, you can’t go bust from action or modifier cards, so choose your enemies wisely!
If you choose to stay with your current cards, then you won’t be given anything and can bank your points for the rest of the round. There’s more about this in the next section if you need to quickly find out what your fate is about to be.
If you ever manage to get seven unique number cards (e.g. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11), you get 15 bonus points and the round ends immediately - and this is why you should definitely wear your lucky socks when playing this game.
How to use the Flip 7 Action cards
The Flip 7 action cards really spice up this already intense game - these can be used on any other player, or even yourself!
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The Freeze card banks all of your points, which means that you are done for the round.
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The Flip Three card means that the dealer has to give that person the three cards from the top of the deck, and all normal rules apply. So, if you get a duplicate number and you go bust, then you’re out, buddy. If you manage to get seven unique cards (even before you’ve flipped all three cards over), the round ends immediately and you get those lovely 15 bonus points.
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The Second Chance card is your safety net. You want to keep this for when any pesky duplicate cards come up, and you can then discard your duplicate card along with the Second Chance card for another go at the round and a sigh of relief! Just remember: you can only ever have one second-chance card in front of you, so if you are dealt more than one, you have to give it to another player.
How to use the Flip 7 Modifier cards
The modifier cards in Flip 7 are a great way to tag some extra points onto your score. There are 2/4/6/8/10+ cards, which add that number onto your total score, and there are x2 modifier cards that will double your total score - as long as you don’t go bust!
How a game of Flip 7 ends
Each round continues until either everyone goes bust, someone gets seven unique numbers, or everyone chooses to stay with their cards in front of them. When the round ends, everyone adds up their points, which includes all of the number cards you have and any modifiers too. The correct order for this is that, if you have a double modifier, you double the total score of your number cards first, and then you add on any plus modifiers after you have doubled.
Once all the scores have been tallied, all players discard their cards, including any second-chance cards, and this pile is kept to the side as a discard pile. The remaining cards that were not used in that round are shuffled and handed to the player to the left of that round’s dealer, and so the next round begins! This means you can keep one sneaky eye on the cards that have already been played to potentially figure out what number cards could be left. When the deck completely runs out, then you can shuffle together all of the discarded cards and start the deck again.
The game will only end when a player reaches 200+ points. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins! This could take you anywhere from 5 rounds to 50 rounds, so it’s best to settle yourselves in for the long haul with plenty of snacks, comfy seats, or some of our Asmodee accessories if you’re playing this game on the go to keep everything neat!
Flip 7 rules for larger groups
If you’re playing with a group larger than 18 people, first of all, we’d love to know your secrets to having so many board-gaming-loving friends, but second of all, it’s recommended that you introduce a second box of cards! That way you’ll make sure you definitely have enough action cards, modifier cards, and those sneaky zeros to keep the game interesting.
Where can I buy Flip 7?
Here at Asmodee, we love sharing our favourite games with you! We also love working with your local board game cafes and shops to ensure that the best games can reach all across the UK, so why not hit up your local board game store and see if they have it in stock? If you fancy it, we’ve got a whole page dedicated to our favourite travel-friendly games where you can find classics and family favourites for your next holiday.
