Flip 7

Bring the original deck and make room for rows

This guide hosts 3–8 people with the original English Flip 7 game from The Op Games. The current original-game product is labeled 2nd Edition; the linked rulebook is marked ruleset edition 3.1. Check for Freeze, Flip Three, Second Chance and positive score modifiers. Flip 7: With a Vengeance and themed sets can change cards or rules; use their own instructions.

Bring the complete 94-card deck, one sheet of paper, one pen and a table with a separate display area for each player. The deck has 79 Number cards: one 0, one 1, two 2s, three 3s, continuing up to twelve 12s. It also has three each of Freeze, Flip Three and Second Chance, plus one each of +2, +4, +6, +8, +10 and ×2. An ordinary playing-card deck does not replace this set. Write everyone's name and starting total of 0 on the sheet.

Choose a dealer and agree on clockwise turn order. The dealer also plays. Shuffle all 94 cards thoroughly and keep the draw pile face down. Leave space beside it for discards. Put your Number cards in a face-up row and modifiers or Second Chance above that row. Everyone should be able to see the numbers. For this guide, use softly spoken decisions; shouting is optional.

Deal, then ask for a card or stay

Resolve the three Action cards

Freeze: the player dealt this card chooses an active target, including themselves. That target stops immediately and keeps their current round score. Someone who already stayed, froze or busted is not a legal target. With only one active player, Freeze must affect that player. A target with no scoring cards keeps 0.

Second Chance: keep your first one above your row. When a duplicate Number arrives, discard the new duplicate and Second Chance, leaving the original Number in your row. You remain active; ordinarily your next card comes on your next turn. During Flip Three, continue any draws still owed. You cannot save Second Chance for later instead of resolving that duplicate, and it cannot block Freeze or Flip Three. You may hold only one: if dealt another, give the extra to another active player who lacks one; discard it if no eligible recipient exists. Unused Second Chances expire at the end of the round.

Flip Three: the player dealt this action chooses an active target, including themselves. The target must take the next three cards, one at a time, without choosing Stay between them. Every card type counts toward those three draws. Stop early if they bust or reach seven different Number cards. A newly drawn Second Chance works immediately, including against a later duplicate in that sequence. Set any newly drawn Freeze or Flip Three aside until all three required cards have been drawn. If the target busts, discard those delayed actions without using them. If they Flip 7, the round ends and delayed actions do not happen.

If all three draws finish and the player remains active, they choose active recipients for their delayed actions; those recipients can be other players or themselves. If only that player remains active, actions must target them. A fresh Flip Three starts another three-card sequence. The short printed rulebook does not specify the order of several delayed actions together: this guide uses a stated house convention to resolve them in the order revealed, fully finishing one before the next and choosing only targets still active. After the sequence and any delayed effects, resume the ordinary turn order.

Add the round, then check the finish

A busted player adds 0. For everyone else, add the Number cards, double that sum if they have ×2, then add all plus modifiers. Finally add 15 only for the player who reached seven different Number cards. For example, 2, 5 and 9 total 16; with ×2 and +6, the round scores 38. A row of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 totals 21; with ×2, +8 and the Flip 7 bonus, it scores 65. The multiplier does not double the plus cards or the 15-point bonus.

Add these results to the written running totals. At the end of a round in which anyone reaches at least 200, the highest total wins, even if someone else crossed 200 first. If the highest total is tied, everyone plays further complete rounds until one player has the highest total. This applies at exactly 200 too. Do not limit the extra rounds to the tied players.

If the game continues, move every card from the finished round to the discard area and pass the remaining draw deck to the player on the dealer's left, who becomes the new dealer. Do not reshuffle between rounds. When the draw pile empties, shuffle the discards to make a new pile. If that happens mid-round, leave every current player's display on the table, including cards belonging to people already out; only the discard pile is available to reshuffle.

Make the decisions easy to follow

Explain the duplicate-number risk first, then show the three actions and one scoring example. Keep a finger or verbal cue on the next player so a long Flip Three chain does not lose the ordinary turn order. Ask for one clear decision and give the player space to make it; table advice is optional. Read a card's number or effect aloud when useful and keep displays within everyone's view and reach.

A player who busts waits for the next round rather than leaving the game. Keep the deal moving and let the group decide whether it wants another full game afterward. Community players enjoy the shared suspense, but others dislike repeated early busts or scorekeeping. Use the five-round option below if the group wants a fixed number of rounds; choose it before starting.

Settle disputes using card type and active status: seven cards of mixed types are not a Flip 7; the same number in two different people's rows is harmless; a player who stayed cannot be targeted; a duplicate saved by Second Chance does not join the row. Agree on the stated delayed-action convention before the first deal.

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Ideas & Twists

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