Ways to Play the Card Game Dobble

Dobble – sometimes called Spot it! – is a really fun game that was first invented many years ago and almost lost to time – until a game designer called Denis Blanchot stumbled on an earlier concept.

He found some cards from the incredibly rare "game of insects" from 1976 and wondered if he could build on them. If he hadn't, the game may never have existed.

Pictured above: Pokémon Dobble

Dobble is a high-speed matching game – but it's a little more complicated than the standard snap. For one thing, there are 8 symbols on each card, and only one will match your opponent's card. It's up to you, to find out which – fast.

It's usually only a 15 minute game, but it's one that requires a lot of energy and can cause a lot of laughs.

Generally, it's considered good for ages 6 and above, and it can be played with 2 to 8 players. This makes it good for chilling on a quiet afternoon or fun for parties.

The original Dobble game had a random collection of symbols to match, with things like zebras, lightning bolts, yin and yang symbols and love hearts, among other things. There are so many versions, including Harry Potter, Pokémon and Super Mario.

Just a few of the Dobble designs

Here are 5 different ways to play Dobble, so you can make the most of your cards.

How to play classic Dobble (The Tower)

The aim of the game is to be the fastest person to spot the matching symbol between two cards – and shout it out. This bit can be very exciting and causes a lot of laughs.

To start, as with most card games, you'll need to shuffle the deck. If shuffling is difficult for you, cutting the deck a few times will be fine.

Each player gets dealt one card, and it’s placed face down.

The rest of the cards go into the middle. This stack is called the ‘draw pile’, and the top one is set face up.

Now, you're ready to start the game.

Everyone flips their card over at the same time – turning it away from them to avoid any sneak peeks!

The scramble begins to find the one symbol that matches between their card and the middle card – and it's not hilarious when there's a few of you.

As soon as a player spots the matching symbol, they shout out what it is. The reward for that round is that the one who shouts out their pairing first, claims the card on the deck pile. That's your card for the next round.

Your old card isn't used anymore in the game, and becomes a prize counter. It goes at the side of you to represent a point.

The next card on the deck pile gets flipped and that starts the next round. Then, you just keep going until the draw pile runs out.

Whoever has the most cards as prize counters at the end, wins!

Dobble's twist on The Tower (The Poisoned Apple)

The goal is to have the fewest cards at the end. The game plays almost the same as the classic version, but with a twist.

When you find a match between your card and the draw card pile in this version, you give that middle card to another player instead of keeping it. You can pick who – so be careful, because it can cause some drama!

It's a good version for older players and allows for some devious behaviour like teaming and tactical choices.

At the end, the player with the least cards wins!

Playing Dobble in Reverse (The Well)

In this version, the aim is to get rid of all of your cards first.

To start the game, after a shuffle, you deal one card in the middle of everyone, which is face up.

The rest of the cards are evenly split between the players. They go face down in a ‘personal pile’.

The game starts when the game leader (we usually just pick the youngest person there) signals to go. Traditionally, that's by shouting ‘go’, or doing a countdown, but feel free to get creative.

The rush begins, as each player flips the top card from their pile. The first to find a match with the center card and call it out gets to put their card in the center.

That becomes the new card to match. Whoever placed that card on the stack, has to draw a new card to use from their personal pile.

If you're playing with younger ones, it's okay to pause between rounds, but it can be really funny to have an ongoing game and see everyone diving into the jumble.

The first person to empty their pile is the winner!

Dobble with multiple players to pass to (Hot Potato)

The aim of this version is to have the fewest cards at the end of the game.

After a shuffle, everyone gets one face-down card to begin with. This version can be played with two people, but it's way more fun and tactical with extra players.

The game leader calls for the round to start, and everyone flips their card. The aim is to match a symbol on another player's card with your own – except you don't shout it out in this version – unless you want to.

When you match symbols with someone else (anyone in the game) you toss your card like a hot potato to them by slapping it next to them. This becomes their points pile. If anyone matches against them again, they build on this pile.

The round ends when no one can match any more symbols with each other's cards. The quicker you get a match, the more of an advantage you'll have – because you'll have given away your card, so nobody can match with you!

After that, everyone gets new cards and the process starts over.

At the end, the winner will be the one with the least cards in their points pile.

Three card Dobble (Triplet Trouble / Triplet Mode)

Again, in this version, the aim is to get the most cards by finding matches.

After the usual shuffle, three cards are placed face up in the middle of the table. The layout doesn't matter, as long as everybody playing can clearly see them.

The rest of the cards stay in a stack to make a draw pile.

Like in other versions, everybody races to find a match, but this time, the symbol they need has to be common to all 3 cards.

The first to find and name it, gets to keep the 3 cards in the middle.

3 more are added, and the next round starts.

Once you have decked out (played as many sets of 3 from the draw pile as possible), the one with the most cards at the end wins!

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