Cabo (game)


Cabo is a 2010 card game by Melissa Limes and Mandy Henning that involves memory and manipulation based on the classic Golf card game and is similar to Rat-a-Tat Cat. The game uses a dedicated deck of cards with each suit numbered from 0 to 13, and certain numbers being marked as "Peek", "Spy" or "Swap". The objective of the game is for each player to minimize the sum of their own cards, four of which are played face-down to the table at the start of a round. Face-down cards may be revealed and swapped by card effects.
Cabo combines elements from shedding and matching type card games. It is similar to the traditional card game Golf and the 1995 Mensa Select award-winner Rat-a-Tat Cat.
Cabo can also be played with a standard playing card deck, and goes under names including Cambio, Pablo and Cactus.

Gameplay

Each player is dealt 4 cards, face down. After each deal, players may peek at any 2 of their own cards.
In clockwise order, players do any of three things:
  • pick a card from the draw pile, and either keep the card or discard it.
  • pick a card from the discard pile and place one of their own cards on the discard pile
  • call "Cabo"
Whenever a player discards cards from their hand, they may discard any number of cards of the same rank. If a player discards all of their cards they are considered safe and their value can not move from 0. If a player draws then discards a "choice" card, they may choose to use its ability, as follows:
  • 7 or 8: the player may "peek" at one of their own cards
  • 9 or 10: "spy" on one of another player's cards
  • 11 or 12: swap any two cards on the table, of any player
When a player calls cabo, the other players each get one more turn and then everyone has to turn their hidden cards face-up, and lay down the cards from their hand. The player with the lowest score wins.

Editions and variants

The second edition of Cabo, published by Bezier Games, was published in April 2019. It includes changes such as new artwork, modified rules, a scorepad, and four player reference cards. Rules modifications include:
  • Plays 2–4 players
  • Cards taken from the discard pile remain face up for the rest of the game
  • Penalty for non-matching cards: Keep all cards including the one drawn — one more per additional cards that do not match
  • 10 point penalty for missing a cabo call
  • All players score the sum of their points; if the caller has the lowest sum, they get 0 points
  • The round ends after a call or when the deck runs out
  • Limit of one reset to 50 when your score = 100 exactly
The third edition of Cabo, published by Shareful Games, LLC was published in February 2025, and is distributed in all of the Americas. It brings back the original artwork by Raleigh, NC artist, Adam Peele, clarified rules, and gameplay instruction cards in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The third edition brings back 2–5 players to retain international consistency with Smiling Monster, the German license holder for Cabo. No other officially licensed publishers exist.

Silver

In August 2019, Bezier Games released Silver, a variant with additional rules modifications and a werewolf theme. Changes include:
  • New artwork to reflect the theme
  • Every card value features a different ability
  • Plays 2–4 players
  • Five cards in front of each player
  • A penalty for failing to match cards in an exchange
  • Four rounds of play in a game
  • The lowest sum of points does not automatically score zero
  • Removal of the kamikaze rule
  • Removal of the 100-point rule

Folk versions

The traditional card game of four-card golf is played with a standard deck of playing cards, and when played with "power cards" house rules it is the same as Cabo.
A simple version of the game played in Malaysia has the following power cards:
  • A Jack allows a player to look at one of their own cards
  • A Queen allows a player to look at one of their opponent's cards
  • A King allows a player to swap one of their own cards with that of their opponent
  • A Joker allows a player to change the positions of their opponent's cards
When a power card is drawn from the stock, it can either be used for its normal value or discarded to activate its power.
John McLeod of Pagat.com speculates that these variants are Spanish in origin, as the game is recorded as being played by students in Spain, and many of its variant names are Spanish words.