Hilo (Spanish)

HILO is a game that takes no time to learn and that you can never get enough of. Try to replace your highest value cards with lower value cards as quickly as possible, or try to clear entire rows. When a player has turned over all their cards, the round ends. The player with the fewest points at the end of the game wins.

Created by Eilif Svensson and Knut Stromfors, HILO can be enjoyed by couples or groups of up to 6 players, ages 8 and up, in games lasting around 20 minutes. This addictive and fast-paced card game consists of several rounds and ends when one player reaches 100 points. Each player tries to replace the cards in their array that have a high value with lower value cards, or even clear entire rows. The player with the fewest points at the end of the game wins.

HILO is very easy to learn – the rules are only 4 pages long! At the start of the game, each player places nine cards face down on the table in front of him/her, forming a 3x3 matrix. The remaining cards are then formed into a face-down deck, which is placed in the centre of the table. The top card is revealed and left face up next to the deck: this will be the first card in the discard pile. Each player then reveals any two cards from his/her matrix. The player with the highest sum in his/her two revealed cards goes first. Easy, right?

On their turn, players must choose one of the two available actions: take the top card (face up) from the discard pile or take the top card (face down) from the deck. In the second case, they can choose to directly discard the card taken, but they must always reveal a card from their matrix. Throughout the game, players can form a STREAM if they get a row of three cards of the same colour in their matrix.

After a player has turned over all the cards in his or her stack (or if a player has run out of cards in the stack at the end of his or her turn), each of the other players takes exactly one more turn. Then, all players reveal any cards they still have face down in their stack. If any THREAD is formed, players discard the cards in the usual manner.

Finally, each player adds up the value of all the cards left in his or her stack. But be careful! If the player who caused the end of the round does not have the lowest sum, he or she must double his or her points for that round (unless the sum is a negative number). He or she must double his or her points even if another player has the same sum of points.

The game ends when, at the end of a round, at least one player has a total of more than 99 points (across all rounds). The player with the lowest total of points wins. If two or more players tie for the fewest points, they share the victory.

Easy to learn, dynamic, fast-paced and fun, HILO will delight casual players and card game lovers alike. However, we must warn you of one thing: this game is addictive.