How to Play

Cambio is a modern memory card game for 2 to 6 players where each player keeps a hidden 2x2 grid and tries to reach the lowest total by drawing, swapping, and triggering special card powers. Red Kings are worth minus 2; the first player to 100 loses.

Cambio (Spanish and Italian for 'change') is a modern memory-and-bluffing card game in the Golf / Cabo family, played by 2 to 6 players with a single 52-card deck. Each player keeps a private 2x2 grid of four face-down cards and tries to minimize the point total of those cards without ever seeing most of them directly. On your turn you draw one card from the stock or discard, then either swap it into your grid, discard it, or trigger its special power if it is a 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, or Queen. When you think you hold the lowest total, you call 'Cambio'; every other player gets one last turn, then all grids are revealed. Red Kings are worth minus 2, making them the most valuable card in the game. The round winner scores 0; losers add the value of their grid. First player to an agreed elimination total loses the match. Cambio rewards sharp memory, disciplined card-counting, and knowing the exact moment to call.

Players

Cambio works with 2 to 6 players, best with 4 or 5. Two players makes for a tight memory duel; five or six plays faster and more chaotic because information decays quickly between your turns. The first dealer is chosen by high-card draw, and the deal rotates clockwise each round. Turns within a round also proceed clockwise.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card French-suited deck, no Jokers (Jokers are used only in the Joker variant; see below). Point values when scored in your grid: Ace = 1, 2-10 = face value, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, Black King = 0, Red King (Hearts or Diamonds) = minus 2. The two red Kings are the prized cards because they actively reduce your total.

Objective

Finish each round with the lowest point total among all players' face-down grids. Over a match, avoid crossing the agreed elimination score (commonly 100 points); the last player under the cap wins the match.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the 52-card deck thoroughly. The player to the dealer's left cuts.
2. Deal 4 cards face-down to each player, arranged as a 2 x 2 grid in front of them. Do not let anyone else see them.
3. Place the remainder face-down in the centre as the stock.
4. Flip the top card of the stock face-up beside it to start the discard pile.
5. Before any turns start, each player secretly peeks at the two cards closest to them (the bottom row of their grid) once, then turns those cards face-down again. This is the only guaranteed information you start with.
6. The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn.

Gameplay

1. On your turn, take exactly one of these actions, then the turn passes clockwise.
2. a. Draw from the stock: Take the top stock card face-down; you alone see it. Then either (i) swap it into your grid, placing it face-down in the chosen position and placing the replaced grid card face-up on the discard pile; or (ii) discard it directly to the top of the discard pile without changing your grid. If the discarded card is a special 7, 8, 9, 10, J, or Q, you may trigger its power (see below).7♠8♠9♠10♠J♠
3. b. Draw from the discard: Take the top discard card. You must swap it into your grid (the replaced grid card goes face-up on top of the discard). You cannot simply re-discard a card drawn from the discard pile.
4. Special card powers (only when the card is discarded by choice from the stock, not swapped into your grid): 7 or 8: peek at one of your own face-down grid cards. 9 or 10: peek at one of any opponent's face-down grid cards. Jack: blind-swap any one of your grid cards with any one of an opponent's grid cards (neither player sees the cards). Queen: peek-then-swap; look at one of your own grid cards and one of an opponent's, then you may swap them or leave them. Powers are optional; announce 'I use the power' before the next player starts their turn. Cards that arrive on the discard from a grid swap do not trigger powers.
5. Sticking (optional, any player, any time on your turn): If the top of the discard pile matches the rank of a card you hold face-down in your grid, on your own turn only you may reveal that grid card, place it on the discard, and leave that grid slot empty. This shrinks your grid (and your future scoring) by one card. Some house rules allow sticking on any player's turn; agree before play.
6. Calling Cambio: On your turn, instead of drawing, announce 'Cambio!' This commits you: you are declaring that you hold (or believe you hold) the lowest grid total. Every other player gets exactly one more turn in clockwise order. No player can call Cambio on the turn immediately after someone else has called it; the round is already ending.
7. Reveal: After the final turn following a Cambio call, every player flips their entire grid face-up and totals their cards using the scoring values above.

Scoring

• Round winner (lowest total): 0 points added to their running total.
• All other players: Add the point total of their revealed grid to their running total.
• Caller penalty: If the player who called Cambio does not have the strictly lowest total (ties do not count), they add +10 points to their own score on top of their grid total. The strictly lowest-total player among the others still scores 0.
• Ties for lowest (no Cambio penalty): If the caller ties the lowest with another player, the caller is considered to have the lowest and scores 0; the tying opponent scores their grid total normally. Some groups instead award 0 to both tied players; agree before play.
• Empty grid after sticking: A player whose grid has been reduced to zero cards automatically scores 0 for the round and may be declared an instant winner of that round; house rule.

Winning

Play multiple rounds until a player's cumulative score reaches or exceeds 100 points; that player is eliminated from the match. When only one player remains under 100, they win the match. Alternatively, play a fixed number of rounds (commonly 5 or 7) and declare the lowest cumulative score the winner. Ties in match play are broken by a final single round between the tied players, with all others sitting out.

Common Variations

• Blind Cambio: Skip the initial peek at the bottom two cards. Every piece of information must be earned during play; a sharper test of memory.
• Joker Cambio: Add two Jokers worth minus 5 each; they are even more valuable than red Kings. Remove them from special-power interactions.
• 5-card grid: Deal 5 cards in a 2-2-1 layout for a longer, more strategic round. Raise the elimination target to 150.
• Team Cambio: In 4- or 6-player games, form partnerships; each round scores the combined total of partners' grids. Only one member needs to call Cambio for the team.
• Open Kings: All Kings, not just red, are worth 0. Reduces the swing from drawing red Kings but removes some of the sharpness.
• No-penalty Cambio: Remove the +10 penalty for a wrong call; suitable for children or brand-new players.

Tips and Strategy

• Memorize the initial two cards exactly. You only get one peek; lock the ranks (and positions) into memory before turning them over.
• Use 7s and 8s on uncertain cards. When you have forgotten what a grid card is (for example after a Jack blind-swap), discard a 7 or 8 to peek at it and update your plan.
• Track the discard pile. Every swap sends a card to the discard face-up. Remember what is visible so you can stick matching grid cards when you have one.
• Think twice before calling Cambio under 6 points. The +10 penalty is severe; if your total is 5 and you suspect one opponent also holds a red King, you are risking a 15-point swing.
• Hoard red Kings aggressively. A single red King turns a 10-point grid into an 8-point one. If a red King lands on the discard pile, and you can swap into it, do it even if you lose some information.
• Watch opponents' Jacks. An opponent who discards a Jack and blind-swaps with you is gambling: if they hit your known red King, you just lost your best card. Rebuild by sticking matches or targeting 7-8 discards for peeks.
• Call Cambio when you have hard information on two opponents. The best call is when you have confirmed two opponents hold at least 10 points each via peeks, and your own total is 2 or 3.

Glossary

• Grid: The 2 x 2 (or 2-2-1) arrangement of face-down cards in front of you.
• Stock: The face-down draw pile in the centre of the table.
• Discard pile: The face-up stack of cards played or swapped out of grids.
• Swap: Replacing one of your grid cards (face-down) with the drawn card, placing the old card face-up on the discard.
• Stick: Revealing a face-down grid card to the discard when its rank matches the top of the discard pile, shrinking your grid.
• Power card: A 7, 8, 9, 10, J, or Q with a special action when discarded directly from the stock.7♠8♠9♠10♠J♠
• Call: Announcing 'Cambio' to end the round after one more round of turns.
• Caller penalty: +10 points added to the caller's round score when they do not have the strictly lowest total.