Strengthen Your Family by Spending Time Together
Strengthen Your Family by Spending Time Together

Ripple A Fun Family Card Game

Ripple is an easy game for the family to learn and play!

It’s always fun to learn a new card game that you can play with your family. And, it’s awesome when the game is easy to learn and easy to play. That describes Ripple!

To play Ripple, you’ll need one set of Skip-Bo cards for 4-5 players. If you have more players, you’ll need two decks.

The object of the game is to have the lowest score. (This game is similar to the Golf card game that I have previously shared.)

Deal out 10 cards to each player. 

Without looking at the cards, the players put their cards face down in front of them in 2 rows with 5 cards in each row. One row is above the other row. This is your ‘hand.’

Ripple is easy for the family to learn and play!

Players turn over any 3 cards.

Ripple is a fun game for the family to play!

The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle of the table. This is the community draw pile.

Scoring

Cards 7, 11, or Skip-Bo are wild cards. They are worth zero points. The points on the other cards equal their face value so if you have an 8 card it is worth 8 points.

Matching cards. If you draw a card that has the same value of a card that is face up in your ‘hand,’ use it to replace the card that is either above or below the card with the matching value. The score of the two matching cards is zero.

In the example below, the matching 4s, 5s, and 8s are worth zero points because the value of the card in the top row equals the value of the card directly below it. The Skip-Bo and 11 cards are worth zero points. So the final score for this round is 3 plus 1 which is 4 points.

Ripple is a fun card game for the family to play!

Double matching cards. If you have two sets of matching cards that are side by side, you subtract 20 from the score for that round.

In the example below, the matching 8s are worth zero points. The Skip-Bo and the 11 cards are worth zero points. Add 3 plus 1 to get 4 points. Subtract 20 points (for the double set of matching 4 cards) to get a minus 16 points for your score for that round. (People can have a negative score.)

Ripple is an awesome game to play with your family!

Triple matching cards. If you have three sets of matching cards that are side by side, subtract 30 points from your score for that round.

In the example below, the matching 8s are worth zero points. The 11 is worth zero points. The 1 is worth one point. The triple sets of matching 4s equal a minus 30 points so the score is a minus 29 for that round.

Your family will love learning how to play Ripple!

Quadruple matching cards. If you have four sets of matching cards that are side by side, subtract 40 points from your score for that round.

Ripple. If you draw a card that matches one of your cards that is face up and the card either above or below it is still face down, exchange the card that you drew with the face down card.

When you turn over that face down card and see that it matches another card that is face up and there is a card either above or below the matching card that is face down, exchange the newly turned over card with the card either above or below the matching card that is face down.

You can continue to ‘ripple’ as long as the card that you turned face up can be exchanged for one that is face down. (You cannot exchange a card that was turned face up with a card that is already face up.)

Here’s a very short video clip that demonstrates a ripple.

Okay. Now let’s look at how to play this card game!

Determine how many rounds you will play.

The first player takes a card from the community draw pile. She may exchange it with one in her ‘hand.’ If she doesn’t want the card that she drew, she places it above her rows of cards. This is her personal discard pile.

Ripple is a fun game for the family to play!

The player to the left goes next. That person can take a card from the community draw pile or from any other player’s discard pile. If she draws a card and doesn’t want to use it, she places it in her personal discard pile.

After she has finished her turn, play goes to the person on her left.

Play continues until one player has all of her cards turned over.

The remaining other players get one more turn.

That is the end of the round. Players add up their score. (You add up the players’ scores after each round.)

Continue until you’ve played all of the number of rounds that you have decided upon. The winner is the person with the lowest score.

Here are directions that you can print up to use while you are playing the game.

You know, there will probably be lots of opportunities to have your grandchildren over to play this card game in the next little while — a Halloween party, at Thanksgiving, during the Christmas holidays, New Year’s EVe.

I hope you have loads of fun playing this game with them!

Ripple is a fun game for the family to play!

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