Cambio
Also called Cabo, Pablo, Cactus
Lowest hand wins — but you only ever saw two of your four cards.
drills completed
- Players
- 2–6 players (best with 3–6)
- Time
- 10–20 min
- What you need
- Standard 52-card deck, including the two jokers
- Difficulty
- Easy to learn
Objective
End the round with the lowest total point value in your four-card hand — then call "Cambio" before anyone undercuts you.
Setup
- Shuffle a standard 52-card deck including the jokers.
- Deal four cards face down to each player, arranged in a 2×2 grid in front of them.
- Put the rest of the deck face down in the middle, leaving room beside it for a discard pile.
- Every player peeks at the two cards closest to them — once, at the start of the round. That is the only free look you get.
- Flip the top card of the deck onto the discard pile to start it.
Your turn
On your turn you draw the top card of the deck, then do exactly one of two things:
- Swap it in. Put the drawn card face down into your grid, replacing one of your four cards. The card you replaced goes face up on the discard pile. You now know that position.
- Discard it. Put the drawn card straight onto the discard pile. If it is a special card, its power triggers now.
Then play passes to the left.
Card values
Everything is scored at face value except the cards worth remembering.
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Joker | 0 |
| Red King (♥ ♦) | −1 |
| Ace | 1 |
| 2 – 10 | Face value |
| Jack | 10 |
| Queen | 10 |
| Black King (♣ ♠) | 10 |
Special cards
These only fire when you discard them.
| Card | Power | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 7 or 8 | Peek | Secretly look at one of your own face-down cards. |
| 9 or 10 | Spy | Secretly look at one of another player’s face-down cards. |
| Jack or Queen | Blind switch | Swap one of your cards with another player’s — without looking at either. |
| Black King (♣ ♠) | Look & switch | Look at one of your cards and one of an opponent’s, then choose whether to swap them. |
The black King is the best card in the deck to discard and one of the worst to hold — ten points if it ends up in your grid.
Sticking
The mechanic that makes Cambio fast, loud and occasionally unfair.
If you know a card in your grid matches the rank of the card on top of the discard pile, you may slap it onto the pile at any moment — even in the middle of someone else’s turn. This is called sticking, and it is how you shrink your hand.
- First player to stick wins the race. Only one stick per discarded card.
- A correct stick removes that card from your grid for good. Your hand is now smaller — and a smaller hand is a lower score.
- You may also stick another player’s card if you know it matches. If you are right, you then hand them one of your own cards to fill the hole. You get rid of a card and they gain one.
- A wrong stick is a double punishment: the card stays where it was, and you take a penalty card face down.
Penalties
A penalty means an opponent deals you an extra card face down, placed beside your grid. You may not look at it, and it counts toward your score at the end. Penalties are handed out for:
- Using two hands at any point.
- A wrong stick — slapping down a card that did not match.
- Sticking another player’s card wrongly. They keep their card; you take the penalty.
Calling Cambio & winning
At the start of your turn, before you touch the deck, you may call "Cambio". This ends the round:
- You do not draw or play a card — calling is your turn.
- Every other player takes exactly one more turn.
- All hands are revealed and points are totalled.
- The lowest total wins the round.
On a tie, the player who did not call Cambio wins — calling is a risk and the tie-break punishes it. If two non-callers tie, the one holding the lower-value individual cards wins (a Joker and an Ace beat a red King and a 2).
Card library
Everything scores at face value except the cards worth memorising. Powers only fire when a card is discarded.
-
JK. Joker0
Free. The best card you can hold.
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K of hearts. Red King−1
Worth minus one. Hearts and diamonds only.
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A. Ace1
Almost free.
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2–6. Low numbersface
Scored at face value. No power.
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7. Seven7
Peek at one of your own face-down cards.
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8. Eight8
Peek at one of your own face-down cards.
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9. Nine9
Spy on one of another player’s cards.
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10. Ten10
Spy on one of another player’s cards.
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J. Jack10
Blind switch: swap a card with an opponent, sight unseen.
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Q. Queen10
Blind switch: swap a card with an opponent, sight unseen.
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K of spades. Black King10
Look at one of yours and one of theirs, then choose to swap.
No cards match that filter.
Try it
Short drills on the rules people get wrong. Nothing is saved anywhere but this browser.
Drill 1 of 2
Stick the right card
CompletedThe discard pile shows 8♦ and you know every card in your grid. Which one can you slap down?
Rank is all that matters — 8 on 8. That card leaves your grid for good.
Sticking needs a matching rank, not a matching colour or value. Only the 8 matches the 8♦.
Drill 2 of 2
Pick the right power
CompletedYou want to see one of your opponent’s face-down cards. Which card do you discard?
9 and 10 spy on somebody else. 7 and 8 only peek at your own.
Close. 7 and 8 peek at your own cards; 9 and 10 are the ones that look at an opponent’s.
House rules & variations
Every table plays a little differently. These are the common variants — agree on them before you deal.
Playing to a target score
Rather than one-off rounds, keep a running total across rounds and play until someone crosses 100 points — that player loses, and the lowest total at that moment wins. This is the most common way to turn Cambio into a full game rather than a ten-minute filler.
Winner’s bonus
Some tables score the round winner as 0 instead of their actual hand value, which rewards calling Cambio aggressively. Others give the caller a penalty of +5 if they are undercut, which punishes it. Pick one — do not play both.
No sticking other players
Sticking an opponent’s card is the most argued-about rule in Cambio. Some groups ban it entirely and allow sticking only from your own grid. This makes the game calmer and considerably slower.
Jokers as −2
Scoring jokers at −2 rather than 0 makes them the most valuable card in the deck and sharpens the hunt for negatives. With more than four players this can swing rounds hard.
Two peeks, or none
The standard opening peek is two cards. Some play one card for a harsher memory game, or allow a re-peek at your original two cards once per round.
Strategy hints
Track the discard pile, not just your own grid. Every card discarded is a card you can stick against later — and knowing what is gone tells you what your opponents are probably sitting on.
Dump high cards early. A Queen sitting in your grid is ten points that will not improve on its own, and you have limited turns to find something better.
Blind switches (Jack, Queen) are best used to give away a card you know is terrible. You lose nothing by not looking if you already know your own card is a 10.
Discarding a 9 or 10 to spy on the player to your left is usually better than spying on the leader — you will be blind-switching with your neighbour more often.
Call Cambio when your hand is small and known, not just when it is low. A three-card hand you have memorised is safer than a four-card hand that might contain a black King.
If someone is sticking constantly, they have a memorised grid and a low score. Consider calling Cambio early to cut them off, even at a mediocre total.
Frequently asked
How long does a round take?
Usually 10–20 minutes with 3–6 players. Two-player rounds are quicker but much less interesting, since the blind-switch and spy cards only have one target.
Is Cambio the same game as Cabo?
Yes. Cambio, Cabo, Pablo and Cactus are the same game under different names, with small regional differences in the special cards and the penalty for being undercut.
Do I need a special deck?
No. One standard 52-card deck plus the jokers. Commercial Cabo decks exist, but they change nothing mechanically.
Can I stick a card I just discarded myself?
Yes — and you should. Discard a card, then immediately stick a matching card from your own grid. You are the only person who knows it is there. Some tables ban this; agree beforehand.
Can I look at my penalty card?
No. A penalty card goes face down and stays unknown to you until scoring. That uncertainty is the actual punishment — you can no longer safely call Cambio.
What happens if the deck runs out?
Shuffle the discard pile — except the top card, which stays face up — and use it as the new deck. In practice most rounds end before this happens.
Can two people stick the same card?
No. Only the first stick counts. If two hands land at once, the card belongs to whoever was clearly first; if nobody can agree, the safest table rule is that neither stick counts.
Cheat sheet
Cambio
2–6 players · 10–20 min · Standard 52-card deck, including the two jokers
Setup
Four cards face down each in a 2×2 grid. Peek at your two nearest cards once. Flip one card to start the discard pile. One hand only, all round.
Your turn
- Draw the top card of the deck.
- Either swap it into your grid (discarding the card it replaces), or discard it to trigger its power.
- Play passes left.
Key rules
- Values: Joker 0, red King −1, Ace 1, 2–10 face value, J/Q/black K 10.
- Powers fire on discard only — 7/8 peek at your own, 9/10 spy an opponent, J/Q blind switch, black K look-and-switch.
- Stick a matching card onto the discard pile any time, even out of turn. Wrong stick = keep the card + penalty card.
- Penalty = one extra face-down card you may never look at.
- Call Cambio at the start of your turn, before touching the deck.
Scoring
Everyone takes one last turn, then reveal. Lowest total wins. Ties go to the player who did not call Cambio.
Score tracker
Lowest points wins. A game ends when someone passes 100 — the lowest score at that moment wins.