Who goes first in Skyjo?
In the first round, the player with the highest sum across their two revealed cards goes first.
First round
After everyone reveals two cards, add those two values. The highest total starts. Negative and zero cards count normally, so a 12 and -2 total 10.
When players tie for the highest visible total, agree a neutral tie-break before play, such as drawing a card and returning it to the shuffled deck. The official English rule text identifies the highest sum but does not spell out a tied-start procedure.
Later rounds
The player who ended the previous round begins the next one. This means the starting player can change from round to round.
Do not automatically give the first turn to the youngest player in Classic. That convention belongs to many family games, but Classic Skyjo uses the visible-card total.
Who goes first
In the first round the player with the highest total of their two revealed cards begins. In later rounds the player who ended the previous round begins.
Round one: highest revealed total starts
Add the two cards each player turned face up.
| Player | Round | Counts as |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Ended it | 19 | revealed |
| Pete | 6 | revealed |
| Rachel | -3 | revealed |
Later rounds: the previous ender starts
Whoever ended the last round begins the next one.
| Player | Round | Counts as |
|---|---|---|
| Ended round 1 Ended it | 0 | Pete |
| Starts round 2 | 0 | Pete |
Round one is decided by the cards. Every round after that is decided by who ended the last one.
Written in our own words and checked against the official rulebook. Skyjo.co.uk is an independent guide, not affiliated with Magilano. Spot an error? Tell us and we fix it.