Flip 7 is great luck pushing fun

On the box it says Flip 7 is “The greatest card game of all time!”. I think that they are pushing their luck with that statement, but since that is what the game is all about, it is probably fair enough.

You use a special deck of cards. Most of the cards are numbered from 0 to 12. There are 12 cards numbered 12, 11 cards numbered 11 and so on. There is one zero card, which kind of breaks the pattern, but there you go.

There are also special cards, some of which give you free points, others let you inflict things on other players or give you protection against “busting”.

You “bust” when you pick up a card with a number which matches a card you already have. So getting a 12 card is good news score-wise, but bad news in that there is are plenty of other 12 cards out there that can ruin your round if you get another one.

During a round the dealer will ask you whether you want to get another card or stick with your score. A round ends when everyone is either bust or happy with their lot. Then all the cards go onto the discard pile and another round starts.

Each round score is added to your total until someone tops 200, when they win. Oh, and if you manage to get seven number cards in your hand you get a special bonus.

The luck pushing element is finely judged, and some of the special cards can be quite fun, particularly the one you can use to force another player to draw three cards. Good fun, and works with a large number of players - which is great.