Front of the Phase 10 card game box, blue with red, yellow and green stripes — Mattel's Phase 10, the international box sold in IndiaPhoto: FirstCry

A family playing Phase 10 round a coffee table, a boy throwing his arms up in celebration — A family game nightPhoto: Mattel

Phase 10 cards laid out: number cards 1 to 12 in four colours, Wild and Skip cards, and the card box — Number cards, Wilds and SkipsPhoto: Mattel

Hands laying down Phase 10 number cards on a wooden table — Laying down a phasePhoto: Mattel

Back of a Phase 10 box listing the ten phases — The back of the box lists all ten phases (Mattel's US box)Photo: Mattel

Video

Card game · Indian edition available

Phase 10

Rummy with a twist: clear ten set targets in order

Collecting sets

2–6best with 3-5
45–90 minper game
About 2 minto set up
7+years
Very easy
Littlereading

The official listing, on Amazon.in

Made in India

Buy on Amazon.in

We couldn't confirm whether this listing sends the Indian or the imported box. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.

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The game in a nutshell

Phase 10 is Mattel's rummy-style card game: everyone works through the same ten targets, or phases, in order, such as two sets of three or seven cards of one colour, and you only move on once you complete your current phase. It suits families who already enjoy rummy or UNO and want a longer game for 2 to 6 players aged 7 and up. The genuine Mattel deck is inexpensive, and Indian listings say it is made in India.

Is Phase 10 right for you?

Great if

Families who play rummy with an ordinary deck and would like a version with a clear goal for every round
Two to six players, including children from about 7 who know their numbers and colours
Train journeys and holidays, because it is just one small box of cards
A cheap gift: the genuine Mattel deck costs very little

Skip it if

You want a quick game, since a full game runs over many rounds and can easily last an hour or more
Your group gets frustrated by bad luck, because you can stay stuck on the same phase for several rounds
You need a game for a big party, as six players is the maximum

THE BOARDGAMES.IN TAKE

Our ratings

How hard to learnVery easy

1 / 5

Luck or skillMore luck than skill

LuckSkill

Set-up~2 min

ReadingLittle

Behind the ratings

How hard to learnIf you know rummy's sets and runs, it takes minutes to learn. It is a small step up from UNO, because players need to remember which of the ten phases they are on and how hitting works, but it still sits at 1 on our scale.

Luck or skillThe cards you draw, and what your neighbour discards, decide a lot, and you can be stuck on one phase for several rounds. Choosing what to keep, what to discard and when to use a Skip helps a little.

Player interactionYou take cards from the shared discard pile, add cards to other players' phases and skip each other, but there are no direct attacks beyond the Skip.

Set-up timeShow everyone the phase reference card, shuffle, deal ten cards each, and turn over the top card of the rest to start the discard pile. Keep a pencil and paper handy to track phases and scores.

Reading neededCards show only numbers, colours and the words Wild and Skip. The list of ten phases is in English; once someone explains it, no reading is needed.

Difficulty uses our 1–5 scale: 1 is UNO or Connect 4, 3 is Catan, 5 is a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

A place on the honours list

Good company to be in.

Recognition from beyond our table.

National Toy Hall of Fame (The Strong National Museum of Play, USA), 2024 (Inducted)

How Phase 10 plays

Deal ten cards to each player and put the rest face down as a draw pile, with one card turned up beside it to start a discard pile. The deck has 96 number cards (1 to 12, twice over, in four colours), 8 Wild cards and 4 Skip cards. Everyone starts on Phase 1, and the ten phases have to be completed in order. Phase 1 is two sets of three, Phase 4 is a run of seven, Phase 8 is seven cards of one colour, and Phase 10 is a set of five plus a set of three.

Time to teach: about 10 minutes.
Reading and language: The cards show only numbers, colours and the words Wild and Skip. The list of ten phases is in English, so someone should explain it once; after that, no reading is needed.

How To Play Phase 10 in Just 3 Minutes · Tabletop Duo

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

Your turn, step by step

1
Draw
Take the top card of the draw pile or the top card of the discard pile.
2
Phase
If your hand holds your whole current phase, lay it face up. Once it is down, you may also add cards to any phase on the table, yours or anyone else's.
3
Discard
End your turn by discarding one card. Discard a Skip to make a player of your choice miss their next turn.
4
Win
When someone plays their last card, the round ends and everyone who laid a phase moves up. The first to complete Phase 10 wins; if several do it in the same round, the lowest penalty score wins.

Read the official rules (PDF)Phase 10 Card Game instruction sheet (Mattel item W4729) · English

The full explanation: how a game of Phase 10 goes

On your turn, take the top card from either the draw pile or the discard pile. If your hand now holds your whole phase, lay it face up on the table. Then end your turn by discarding one card. You can only complete one phase in each round.

Once your phase is down, you can start getting rid of your other cards by adding them to any phase already on the table, yours or anyone else's: a 7 onto someone's set of 7s, or a 9 onto the end of a run. A Wild can stand in for any number or colour. A Skip makes a player of your choice miss their next turn. Skips cannot be used in a phase, and a discarded Skip can't be picked up from the discard pile.

The round ends as soon as one player has put down their phase and got rid of every card. Anyone who completed a phase that round moves on to the next one, and anyone who didn't must try the same phase again. Before long, players are working on different phases, so someone who falls behind can still catch up if the leader gets stuck.

After each round, everyone except the winner scores penalty points for the cards left in their hand: 5 for each card from 1 to 9, 10 for each from 10 to 12, 15 for a Skip and 25 for a Wild. The first player to complete Phase 10 wins. If two players finish it in the same round, the one with the lower score wins; if they are still tied, they replay Phase 10 and the first to go out wins. For a shorter game, the rules let you agree beforehand how many phases to play, or play exactly ten rounds with everyone moving up a phase each round, and the lowest score wins.

What's in the box

96Number cards
1 to 12, twice over, in each of red, blue, green and yellow
8Wild cards
stand in for any number or colour
4Skip cards
make another player miss a turn; can't be used in a phase
2Phase reference cards
list the ten phases; 2 in Mattel's W4729 deck, the number in the Indian W5800 box wasn't confirmed
1Instruction sheet

From Mattel's rule sheet for its US deck (item W4729): 108 playing cards plus 2 phase reference cards. The box sold in India is Mattel's international item W5800, which some Indian listings describe as '112 pieces', so it may hold four reference cards instead of two. The 108 playing cards are the same in every standard deck.

Where to buy

Amazon.inEdition not confirmed

The official listing, on Amazon.in

We couldn't confirm whether this listing sends the Indian or the imported box. Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery.

Buy on Amazon.in

Opens Amazon.in in a new tab.

Genuine Phase 10 is sold in India and, according to Indian listings, made here. Indian listings give India as the country of origin and name Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, as the manufacturer. Tins, Masters editions and foreign-language decks are expensive imports. They are genuine, but you don't need them to play.

How to make sure you get a genuine copyA little care before you click.

Look for the Mattel logo on the box and Mattel in the listing's brand field. Indian listings name Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai.
Count the cards. A genuine deck has 108: 96 number cards (two sets of 1 to 12 in red, blue, green and yellow), 8 Wild cards and 4 Skip cards. Mattel's decks also include cards listing the ten phases.
Read the name closely. Copies use spellings like 'Phase IO' or 'UNOO Phase 10', or call themselves 'similar to Phase 10'.
Don't judge by price alone. The real deck is already cheap, so copies are rarely much cheaper. Be suspicious of listings that show a huge crossed-out price and no brand name.
Look for the ISI mark on the box. An Indian listing for Mattel's deck shows a BIS certification number.

We link to one Amazon.in listing that we've checked against the maker's own information. We don't show prices: Amazon shows today's price, the seller and delivery. Paid link. We may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

What reviewers and players say

Phase 10 is rummy with a to-do list: everyone works through the same ten targets in order, and a player who gets stuck on a phase can be caught by the others, so nobody is out of it for long. Reviewers find it easy to learn and family-friendly, with a big deck and a satisfying sense of progress, and it is one of the world's best-selling card games, second only to UNO. The common complaints are length and luck: a full game needs at least ten rounds and often runs well past an hour, and the cards you draw decide a lot. Mattel's rules include shorter versions, and it was inducted into the US National Toy Hall of Fame in 2024.

What people love

Easy to learn, with only a couple of simple choices each turn
A built-in catch-up: later phases are harder, so players who fall behind can still win
A family-friendly mix of luck and strategy that can get competitive
A clear finish line: you know the game ends when someone completes Phase 10

Common complaints

Too long for many groups: often 15 to 20 rounds and 90 minutes or more
Heavy luck: you can stay stuck on the same phase for several rounds
Plain cards that rely on colour, which may be hard for colour-blind players

Based on 6 reviews and discussions

Review Phase 10 Card Game Review (Eric Mortensen, September 2017) · Geeky Hobbies
Review Phase 10 Card Game Review (TTPM editors, updated August 2022) · TTPM
Award 2024 Toy Hall of Fame inductees revealed (The Strong, November 2024) · The Strong National Museum of Play
Players Comment in 'Ask HN: What are your favourite games?' (codingdave, February 2022) · Hacker News
Reference Phase 10 Card Game instruction sheet (Mattel, 2018) · Mattel
Reference Phase 10 · Wikipedia

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

More like Phase 10

Our picks if Phase 10 isn't quite right

Feature	Phase 10	UNO	Rummikub	Sequence
Players	2–6	2–10	2–4	2–12
Best with	3-5	4-6	3-4	4-6 in two teams
Play time	45–90 min	10–30 min	20–60 min	20–40 min
Age	7+	7+	7+	7+
Rules	Easy	Easy	Easy	Easy
Indian edition	Yes	Import	Yes	Yes
Why look at it	This page	Mattel's simpler and quicker card game, and better for big groups	Also built on rummy sets and runs, but played with tiles	Another easy family classic that rewards planning a few turns ahead

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Questions people ask about Phase 10

Is Phase 10 like rummy?

Yes, it is built on rummy ideas: you collect sets of the same number and runs of numbers in a row. The twist is that each round you must make one specific combination, and you work through ten of them in a fixed order. Families who play rummy with an ordinary deck will recognise most of it.

How long does a game of Phase 10 take?

Longer than UNO. A game lasts until someone completes all ten phases, which takes at least ten rounds and often more. Mattel's rules include two shorter versions: agree beforehand how many phases to play, or play exactly ten rounds with everyone moving up a phase each round, and the lowest score wins.

Is the Phase 10 sold in India genuine and made in India?

Mattel's deck sold in India is genuine. Indian listings give India as the country of origin and name Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, as the manufacturer.

Can two people play Phase 10?

Yes. Mattel's deck is for 2 to 6 players aged 7 and up. With more players there is more waiting between turns, and a round can end before you get close to finishing your phase.

Game facts

Designed by: Kenneth Johnson
Publisher: Mattel (originally Fundex Games)
In India: Mattel Toys (India) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai (named as manufacturer on an Indian listing)
First published: 1982
Players: 2–6
Barcode: 746775060817
Language: Little reading – The cards show only numbers, colours and the words Wild and Skip. The list of ten phases is in English, so someone should explain it once; after that, no reading is needed.
Awards: National Toy Hall of Fame (The Strong National Museum of Play, USA), 2024 (Inducted)

Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.