How to play Color Cards

Color Cards is a lively colour-matching card game for four. You play against three computer opponents, Lily on your left, Zoe on your right and Max across the table, and the first player to empty their hand wins. On each turn you cover the top card with one of the same colour, number or symbol, while action cards skip players, turn the direction of play around and make opponents draw.

Luck plays its part, but good players win far more often: holding a Wild until it matters, watching how many cards each opponent has left, and noticing which colours a player can't follow all make a real difference.

How to play on skill.games

When you open the game, the settings popup appears. Choose a difficulty (Easy, Normal, Hard or Crazy) and press PLAY. Your record at that level is shown before you start. You always play first.

• The table: a ring in the middle shows the direction of play and the colour to match, and name tags show how many cards each opponent holds.
• Playing a card: tap a card, or drag it onto the table. A card that can't be played gives a small shake.
• Wilds: after a Wild, a colour wheel appears. Tap the colour you want.
• Drawing: tap the deck to draw a card. If it fits you can play it; otherwise press PASS.
• Draw penalties: when a +2 or +4 is aimed at you, stack one of your own draw cards, or tap the deck to take the whole penalty.
• LAST CARD!: when you are down to two cards and about to play one, a LAST CARD! button appears. Tap it before playing.
• Arranging: drag a card along your hand to move it.

The menu button in the top-left corner pauses the game, starts a new game or turns the sound off. The game is saved at every turn, so you can leave and press CONTINUE later. The results screen shows who went out, your cards left and the turns played, with your statistics for that level: wins, losses, win rate and streaks.

Rules

The deck. 108 cards in four colours: red, yellow, green and blue. Each colour has one 0, two each of 1 to 9, and two each of Skip, Reverse and Draw Two. There are also four Wild cards and four Wild Draw Four cards.

Setup. Each player is dealt seven cards. The next card is turned face up to start the pile; if it is a Wild, it goes back into the deck and another is turned. If the first card is a Skip, Reverse or Draw Two, it acts on you as though the player on your right had just played it.

Your turn. Play one card that matches the top card by colour, by number, or by symbol (a Skip on a Skip, for example), or play a Wild. You may also choose to draw a card instead of playing. If the drawn card fits, you may play it immediately; otherwise you pass.

Action cards.

• Skip: the next player loses their turn.
• Reverse: the direction of play turns around.
• Draw Two: the next player must draw two cards and loses their turn.
• Wild: you choose the colour to be matched next.
• Wild Draw Four: you choose the colour, and the next player draws four cards and loses their turn. You may only play it when you hold no card of the colour currently being matched.

Stacking. A player facing a draw penalty can pass it on instead of drawing. A Draw Two may be stacked on a Draw Two, and a Wild Draw Four may be stacked on either (as long as you hold no card of the current colour). The penalties add up, and the first player who can't or won't stack draws the full total and loses their turn.

LAST CARD. When you play your second-to-last card, you must call LAST CARD. If you go down to one card without calling, you immediately draw two cards as a penalty.

Running out of cards. When the deck is empty, the pile under the top card is shuffled to form a new deck.

Winning. The first player to play their last card wins the match.

Strategy tips

• Hold your Wilds. A Wild is your escape card. If you have an ordinary card that fits, play that and keep the Wild for when you are stuck or close to going out.
• Time your Wild Draw Four. It is only playable when you hold none of the current colour.
• Watch the hand counts. When an opponent is down to one or two cards, use a Skip, Draw Two or Reverse to stop them, depending on who plays next.
• Notice who draws. If a player draws instead of playing, they probably lack that colour. Switch to it when they are next to play, and name it with a Wild.
• Keep a stacking card in reserve. A Draw Two or Wild Draw Four can turn a big penalty aimed at you back onto the next player.
• Plan your last plays so you are not left holding a card you can't use.
• Always call LAST CARD. Two extra cards at the end can cost you the match.

Difficulty levels

The level you choose applies to all three computer players.

• Easy: the computers often play a random legal card, miss half their chances to stack a penalty back, and forget to call LAST CARD fairly often.
• Normal: they mostly play sensibly and save their Wilds, but still make the odd random play, sometimes fail to stack, and occasionally forget LAST CARD.
• Hard: no random plays and no missed stacks. They save Wilds, target a player who is about to go out with Skips, Reverses and draw cards, and almost always call LAST CARD.
• Crazy: everything Hard does, plus they steer play into colours the next player has shown they lack, always call LAST CARD, and focus their attacks on you rather than on each other.