Cabo Scoring: Calling Cabo, Penalties & Shooting the Moon
A focused explanation of the scoring exceptions, common mistakes and worked examples.
For setup and gameplay, read the complete main guide. This supporting article focuses on scoring decisions that can otherwise be easy to miss.
Round scoring
Reveal face-down cards after the last turn. The player with the smallest hand total receives zero round points; other players add their card totals to their cumulative scores. Low cumulative points are better.
Cabo penalty
If a player called Cabo but does not have the lowest hand total, add five points to that player’s hand score as a penalty. The caller is not automatically rewarded just for initiating the end.
Equal lowest hands
If the Cabo caller is tied for the lowest hand, the caller scores zero. If neither of the tied lowest players called Cabo, each receives zero. The other players still score their hands.
Shooting the Moon
If someone finishes with both 12 cards and both 13 cards, that player scores zero while every opponent scores fifty for that round. This special exception makes a very high-looking hand strategically useful in rare cases.
Exact 100 reset
The publisher’s standard rule gives a one-time reset from exactly 100 total points to fifty. Crossing to 101 or more does not trigger this specific reset.
End-of-game example
A player with 94 cumulative points adds six this round, landing exactly on 100. If they have not already used the score-reset bonus, the total becomes fifty. The game ends when a player’s score exceeds 100; lowest cumulative score wins.
Cabo scoring examples and unusual outcomes
Calling Cabo with the lowest hand
A calls Cabo and finishes with a total of nine. B totals eleven and C totals sixteen. A scores zero for the round, while B adds eleven and C adds sixteen to their cumulative scores.
Calling too early
A calls Cabo but has fourteen points; B has eight and C has seventeen. B scores zero, A scores nineteen after the five-point failed-Cabo penalty, and C scores seventeen. An incorrect memory of one card can turn a promising hand into the round’s costliest error.
When lowest totals tie
If A calls with seven and B also has seven, A receives the zero score awarded to the tied caller; B scores seven under the printed caller-tie rule. If neither of two players tied for lowest called Cabo, both receive zero.
Shooting the Moon overrides ordinary hands
The exact combination of both 12s and both 13s gives the holder zero and assigns fifty points to each opponent, regardless of which player called Cabo. Do not treat any four merely high cards as sufficient: the specific ranks are required.
Exactly 100 and end of game
A player reaching exactly 100 cumulative points may reset to fifty once per game. Moving from ninety-four to one hundred therefore can trigger the reset, while moving from ninety-four to one hundred and one does not. A player exceeding 100 triggers the end of the game; the lowest cumulative score wins. Keep these exceptional rules separate from optional Quick Play and Double Swap variants.
Return to the complete Cabo guide for Peek, Spy, Swap and legal matching exchanges.
Rules source and transparency
Official publisher rules. Original independent explanations, without a claim of personal playtesting. Editorial policy.