Phibo 2025

Phibo is a dynamic two-player climbing and shedding card game where players aim to be the first to empty their hand each round. The game is played with a 39-card deck (a standard 54-card deck with the diamond suit removed) and has a unique "Rank Tracker" system which dynamically shifts the ranking of four cards: Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces. Players take turns playing combinations of cards, attempting to overplay their opponent with higher-ranking or matching numerical combinations, while strategically manipulating the rank tracker and managing the draw deck.

Each turn, players can play a valid combination (such as a single, pair, triplet, or run of three) or a "bomb" (the two lowest-ranked cards of the same suit). When players match ranks between 1-10, they must perform special actions like drawing cards, forcing the opponent to draw, or rotating the rank tracker (which alters both the rank hierarchy and bomb composition). Jokers serve as flexible “matchlets”, capable of matching numerical values.

—description from the designer