The Pack
Standard 52-card deck (Jokers are omitted for the standard deck adaptation).
The Deal
Each player is dealt 4 cards face down from the deck, arranged in a row or 2x2 grid in front of them. At the start of the round, players are allowed to secretly peek at exactly 2 of their own 4 cards once, then place them back face down. The remaining cards are placed face down as the stock, and the top card is turned up to start the discard pile beside it. Cards must remain face down and cannot be looked at again unless a power ability allows it.
The Play
The object is for players to have the lowest total value of cards in front of them by swapping for lesser-value cards, utilizing action powers, matching duplicates, or calling Cabo at the perfect strategic moment.
Beginning with the player to the dealer's left, players take turns drawing single cards. A player can draw from the discard pile to immediately swap it with one of their face-down cards (discarding the old card face up). Alternatively, they can draw from the stock pile and choose to either swap it into their grid, or discard it immediately to activate its special power:
7 or 8 (Peek): Secretly look at one of your own face-down cards.
9 or 10 (Spy): Secretly look at one of an opponent's face-down cards.
Jack or Queen (Swap): Trade any one card in your grid with any one card in an opponent's grid without looking at either card.
The Matching Rule (Out-of-Turn Discarding): At any point when a card is flipped onto the discard pile, any player may immediately discard a card from their own grid that matches that exact rank. If successful, you shed a card and shrink your hand size. If you guess incorrectly, you must put your card back and take an extra card from the stock as a blind penalty. If you hold two identical cards in your own hand, you may discard both simultaneously on your own turn.
Instead of drawing, a player may choose to call "Cabo!" on their turn. Every other player gets one final turn. All players then turn their remaining cards face up and scores are tallied. A round also ends immediately if the stock pile runs completely empty. Play continues over multiple rounds until a player reaches or exceeds 100 cumulative points, at which point the player with the lowest total score wins.
Scoring
Each Ace counts 1 point.
Each numeral card from 2 to 10 scores its exact face value.
Each Jack counts 11 points and each Queen counts 12 points.
Red Kings (Hearts and Diamonds) count 0 points.
Black Kings (Spades and Clubs) count 13 points.
The Cabo Bonus: If the player who called Cabo has the lowest score, they get 0 points; if an opponent has an equal or lower score, the caller gets their card total plus a 10-point penalty, while the opponent gets 0 points.
The Kamikaze Rule: If a player manages to end the round holding exactly two Black Kings and two Queens, they score 0 points, and all opponents immediately receive 50 points.
The 100-Point Reset: If a player's cumulative total across rounds hits exactly 100 points, their score resets down to 50 points.