Review: Flip 7

What is Flip 7?

Flip 7 is a new card game by The OP Games that asks “Are you feeling lucky?” It’s a game for ages eight and up, should take about 20 minutes, and can be played by three or more players (the rules book advises you add a second deck if playing with more than 18 people). The goal of Flip 7 is to get to 200 points by getting as many number cards and modifiers in front of you as possible without going bust.

What’s in Flip 7?

The only component to Flip 7 is a deck of 94 cards. This consists of 79 numbered cards, six modifier cards, and nine action cards.

The numbered cards range from 0 to 12, and the quantity of each of the numbers is equal to that number, except for 0, which has one card. So there are one 1s in the deck, two 2s, three 3s, and so on up to twelve 12s. It’s important to remember this as you’re playing, as it may affect whether you hit or stay. More on this in a bit.

There are six modifier cards, five of which will add a certain number to your round score, and one x2 card which will double the value of all of your number cards.

 

The nine action cards consist of three each of:

Freeze – when this is flipped, the player who gets it must immediately play it on an active player. That player becomes inactive for the round, but still gets all the points from their number cards. If there is only one active player, that player must play the card on themselves.

Flip Three – when this is flipped, the player who gets it must immediately play it on an active player. That player then immediately takes the next three cards from the deck. If there is only one active player, they must play the card on themselves.

Second Chance – the player who gets this gets to keep it until the end of the round, or until they would bust, whichever happens first. If a card flipped would cause the player with a Second Chance to bust, that player discards the Second Chance and the card that made them bust, and they may continue to stay active. A player can only have one Second Chance card at a time. If someone flips an additional one, they must give it to another active player, or discard it if they can’t give it to anyone.

How Do You Play Flip 7?

The game goes in a series of rounds. If at the end of a round any player has 200 or more points, the game immediately ends and the player with the highest total wins.

A round starts with the dealer flipping cards from the deck to give one to each player, starting with the player on their left and ending with themselves. Then it’s up to each player, starting with the player on the left of the dealer, to decide if they want to “stay” or “hit,” just like in Blackjack. If a player chooses to stay, they become inactive and will score their points at the end of the round. If they hit, they flip a new card and stay active as long as the new card doesn’t make them bust. Play continues this way around the table until the round ends.

If a player gets a number card that they already have in front of them, they immediately bust. They then become inactive for the rest of the round and score no points for the round. This can be negated by a Second Chance card if the player has one.

 

A round can end in two ways. The most common is for all players to become inactive, either by staying or busting, at which point all players who didn’t bust will score their points and add it to their running total. All cards in play will go to a discard pile, and if nobody won by having 200 or more points, the game moves to the next round. The player to the left of the dealer becomes the dealer in the new round.

Alternatively, a round will end if one player is able to flip seven (hey, that’s the name!) number cards in front of them without busting. When this happens, the round immediately ends, everyone who didn’t bust scores their points, and the player who flipped seven will get an additional 15 points.

Is Flip 7 the Greatest Card Game of All Time?

That is what it says on the box, but I suppose it depends on your criteria. By most measures, and in most opinions I’d assume, the answer is no, it’s not the greatest card game of all time. However, it is a great game. 

 

It’s a simple and quick game that you’ll have no trouble bringing to the table, whether you’re playing with kids, your grandparents, inebriated guests at your New Years party, or anyone else who loves good card game (especially anyone who wants the thrill of Blackjack, without the drawback of losing all their money). 

It’s also very easy on the wallet, with a suggested retail price around $14. The component quality is decent, with card stock quality similar to Bicycle playing cards. 

So if you’re looking for a new card game that you can bust out at nearly any table, Flip 7 is a great choice.

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