Skull King FAQ
49 questions players ask · Updated Nov 10, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setting Sail
The Carrrds
- Who wins a trick with a Pirate, a Skull King and a Mermaid, and how do the character cards rank?
- What happens when two Mermaids are played in the same trick?
- When a Pirate, Mermaid, Skull King, Kraken or White Whale leads a trick, must the other players follow suit?
- When an Escape leads, who chooses the suit the others must follow?
- If an Escape leads and the next player plays a Pirate, Mermaid or Skull King, is there a suit to follow?
- Must you follow the led suit even when you hold a black trump card, or when black is led?
- When two black cards are played in one trick, does the higher black card win?
- If you cannot follow the lead suit, may you play any card, including a black trump card?
- Can you play a special card instead of following the lead suit?
- Is the Skull King part of the black suit for following suit?
- When every card in a trick is an Escape, a Loot card or a Tigress played as an escape, which card wins the trick?
On Your Turn
Scoring
Bonus Points
- Does the order in which a Pirate, Mermaid or Skull King is played matter for capture bonus points?
- Can you earn bonus points for a trick if you miss your bid?
- Does a Pirate that captures two Mermaids earn 40 bonus points?
- If a Mermaid wins a trick that also holds a Pirate and the Skull King, what bonus does each player score?
- Do you score a bonus for a card that was played in a trick you did not win?
- Do you get the Skull King's bonus for capturing the Tigress?
- Who gets the bonus for a 14: the player who played it, or the player who wins the trick?
Ye Be Warned!
- If a White Whale is in a trick and only special cards are played, who leads the next trick?
- What happens when the White Whale and the Kraken are played in the same trick?
- Who leads the next trick after a Kraken trick is discarded?
- After a Kraken destroys a trick, is the trick replayed, and do its cards leave the game?
- When a White Whale is played in the middle of a trick, must the others follow the lead suit?
- If one player wins a trick containing two Loot cards, how are their bonus points scored?
- Can Harry the Giant or Rascal of Roatan use their ability after the final trick of a round?
- Does a Pirate's special ability work only when you played that Pirate and won the trick with it?
Two-Player Rules
Skull King: Expansion PackExpansion
- Who chooses the lead suit when Walk the Plank, Davy Jones' Locker or The Last Volley leads a trick?
- When First Mate Con wins a trick, can he use the powers of every pirate he captured?
- Does a 0/14 played as a zero still count as a high card in a trick?
- Who wins a trick with a First Mate, a Mermaid and a Pirate?
- Which pirates can Walk the Plank remove?
- Do Walk the Plank and Davy Jones' Locker count as Escape cards when a trick is played with Escapes?
- How does The Spotted Stingray decide the trick when Pirates, Mermaids or the Skull King are played with it?
- Must you follow the led suit with the Wild 15 when you also hold other cards of that suit or special cards?
- Which cards count as Sea Monsters?
- Does The Last Volley need to follow suit, and can it win the trick?
- Does Davy Jones' Locker destroy only Sea Monsters, and do other special cards in its trick score normally?
- Who wins a trick made only of Davy Jones' Locker, Walk the Plank and a White Whale?
- Can First Mate Con copy the Tigress's ability when she is played as a pirate?
- If the Spotted Stingray is played in the middle of a trick, must the following players follow the lead suit?