Forget the tactics board. The breakout hit of England's 2026 World Cup camp is a budget card game called Skyjo, and the squad cannot put it down. Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers told the BBC the players are "addicted" to it, after Jude Bellingham introduced the game to the group during their stint in the United States.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeSo what is it? Skyjo is a quick, push-your-luck card game from German publisher Magilano, designed by Alexander Bernhardt in 2015. Each player gets a grid of 12 face-down cards, then takes turns drawing, swapping and flipping them while trying to keep their running total as low as possible. Line up three matching cards in a column and they are cleared off your board. The moment someone passes 100 points the game ends and the lowest score wins. It plays 2 to 8, suits ages 8 and up and costs around £15, which makes it an easy thing to leave lying around a hotel full of restless footballers.
Rogers was happy to talk because he had just won, beating Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Dan Burn, Anthony Gordon and Elliot Anderson. According to the BBC, Skyjo is one of several games keeping spirits up in camp, alongside a Werewolf-style bluffing game called Wolf and the app-driven social deduction game Impostor.
Run game nights? Backseat Gamer handles RSVPs, waitlists, date polling, and game voting so you can focus on playing.
Start organising for freeThere is a lesson in there for the rest of us: the best game-night picks are often the cheap, daft, quick ones that anyone can learn in a minute. Having friends round for the football this summer? A few hands of something like Skyjo between matches goes down a treat. If you want to make a habit of it, you can set up a casual games night and see who shows up.
Sources: Wargamer | GiveMeSport | Magilano
