Rules to Play Cambio
Give 4 cards to each player face-down and put the deck in the middle. Shuffle 1 standard deck of playing cards (with Jokers). Every player gets 4 cards, which they will arrange in front of them face-down in a 2 by 2 grid. Place the rest of the cards face-down in the middle of the table—this is the draw pile. The most popular way to play is with all 4 cards face-down. In some versions, players can look at the 2 cards closest to them, which might be great for younger players. Optionally, look at all 4 cards before placing them down randomly on the table.
Grab a card from the draw pile and replace it with one of your own. On your turn, pick up and look at the top card from the draw pile. Based on your memory of what’s on the 4 cards in front of you (or randomly, if you haven’t seen any of them yet), decide whether to discard what you drew or use it to replace one of your cards. For example, if you drew a 4, you can decide to discard it or replace it with the 10 you know you have in front of you. If you decide to replace a card, put the card that was originally yours in a discard pile. After you’ve discarded either the card you drew or one of your cards, play moves to the person to the left of you. The game moves in a clockwise direction around the table.
Carry out the action associated with any power cards you draw. There are multiple cards in the game that have optional powers you can use to look at your cards, look at another player’s cards, or trade cards with another player. It’s not required to use these powers, but they may help you strategize as you play. 7 and 8: Look at 1 of your own cards. 9 and 10: Look at 1 of your opponents’ cards. Jack: Swap 1 of your cards with 1 of another player’s without looking at them. Queen: Flip over 2 cards belonging to any player and swap them. You have to swap them once you look.
Say “Cambio” when you think you have fewer points than anyone else. If you reach a point in the game where you know you have the lowest 4 cards on the table, you get to call out, “Cambio!” Everyone else gets 1 more turn to improve their standing before the game ends and the scores are tallied up.
Flip over the cards and tally up everyone’s points. Add up all 4 cards in front of you. Whoever has the lowest total score at the table wins the game! The card point values vary depending on the version of the game. In some versions, Kings of any type are worth 0 points, Jacks are worth 11 points, and Queens are worth 12. Here’s a standardized scoring table: Red Kings: -1 point Jokers: 0 points Aces: 1 point Numbers 2 to 10: Points based on face value Black Kings: 10 points Jacks and Queens: 10 points Feel free to make house rules as necessary to make the game more fun for everyone.
Strategies to Win Cambio
Try to memorize the 4 cards you have in front of you. The best way to gain an advantage over the other players is to keep track of what cards you have face-down in front of you. That way, you can switch out the higher cards you have with the lower cards you draw from the deck, and you have a higher chance of winning the game. You can also keep track of the lowest cards you have that you want to keep (like Aces, Jokers, or red Kings).
Keep any cards lower than 5 that you draw from the pile. Lower-scoring cards can be harder to come by, especially since this game only uses 1 deck of playing cards. To increase your chances of winning, try to swap the higher cards in your hand with any Aces, 1s, 2s, 3s, and 4s that you draw from the pile. Similarly, try to discard any cards in front of you that have a value higher than 6.
Say “Cambio” as fast as possible without sacrificing your score. Because players have the opportunity to improve the cards in their hand on each turn, the chance that you might win decreases the longer the game is. Instead of continuing each round hoping for better cards, say “Cambio” as soon as you think you have the lowest cards possible. For example, if on round 3 you have a 2, a Joker, a 9, and an Ace, it’s better to say “Cambio” than to play another round hoping to get a lower card to replace the 9.
Cambio Variations
Discard one of your cards if it’s the same value as the card on top. Play the game with the two cards at the bottom of the 2 by 2 grid flipped face-up. Any time a card is placed face-up on the discard pile and you know you have a card that matches, you can discard it before the end of the current player’s turn. If you put down a card that doesn’t match, you have to take your card plus the card on top of the discard pile, expanding your hand from 4 to 5 cards. You can decide whether players can use the card from the discard pile like a power card or not. Optionally, other players can burn their cards on top of the one you just burned. You can also make it so you can only burn 1 card a turn, so players compete to burn their card first.
Turn Cambio into a drinking game by taking a shot if you lose. After you tally up everyone’s points at the end of a game, whichever player who has the most points takes a shot. If you’re planning on playing several rounds, have the loser take a sip of their drink, instead. Alternatively, anyone who isn’t the winner can take a shot or a sip of their drink. Make sure to drink responsibly.
Stop playing when a player reaches 100 points across all games. If you’re playing multiple rounds of Cambio, make it so the entire game ends when one player gets 100 points or more. The player with the lowest points wins the whole game. If 2 or more players tie for the lowest score, play another round until there’s a decisive winner.
Playing Cambio Online
Practice your Cambio skills in the website or app version of the game. Onmuga’s online Cambio game allows you to play alone to get the highest score possible or send a link to your friends to play with them. You can also play Cambio with other random players in this iOS version and this version for Android devices.
History of the Card Game Cambio
Cambio may have originated in Spain or Latin America. This is because the name of the game, “Cambio,” means “exchange” in Spanish. However, there have been other versions of the same game that are played in Malaysia, Canada, and Poland. “Cambio” may also be another name for Kille, a Swedish card game.
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