Skull
Skull Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal of the Game
To win the game, a player must win 2 bets: make the most daring bet, then flip over that number of cards without revealing a single Skull.
Setup
Each player takes a game mat, placed Skull-side up in front of them, and a pack of 4 cards with the same back (3 Roses and 1 Skull), held hidden in hand. Choose a first player.
Playing a Round
1. Card Placement
Each player looks at their cards and places one face down on their mat. Then, starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player either places another card face down on top of their stack, or (on their turn) issues a challenge instead. Only one card is played at a time. Continue until a player chooses to challenge rather than place a card. (The first player may challenge as soon as the placement phase begins; a player with no cards left in hand must challenge.)
2. The Challenge (Pass or Bid More)
The challenger announces the number of cards they intend to flip over from among all those placed on the mats. A challenge can be for as few as one card. Going clockwise, each player must either raise the bid (to any higher number — bids need not increase by only 1) or pass (pushing their mat to the middle of the table; a player who passes cannot bid again). Continue until all but one player have passed. The highest bidder becomes the challenger.
3. Revelation
The challenger flips cards one at a time, following these rules:
- They must start by revealing all the cards on their own mat (from the top down).
- After their own cards, they may freely choose which player's cards to flip next, revealing from the top of each chosen stack, one at a time.
- The challenger is never forced to reveal all of another player's cards.
If all revealed cards are Roses and the challenger reaches their bid number, the bet is won: flip your mat to its Roses side. Winning two bets wins the game.
If the challenger reveals a Skull, the bet is lost and they stop flipping immediately.
Losing a Bet
When a bet is lost, the challenger loses one card:
- If the revealed Skull was one of the challenger's own cards, the challenger discards one of their cards at random (they shuffle and lose one).
- If the revealed Skull belonged to another player, that player chooses which of the challenger's cards to remove.
The lost card is removed from the game. A player who loses their last card is eliminated (and being eliminated with a revealed skull is part of the special rules below).
Special Situations (a player with one card, "stoned")
For a player who has only one card remaining:
- Card placement phase: if they are the first player or the turn reaches them, they must issue a challenge.
- Revelation phase: if their one revealed card is a Skull, that player is eliminated from the game.
If a player accidentally reveals a card on their mat, it remains visible until the end of the round.
Winning the Game
A player wins immediately upon winning their second bet. (Alternatively, play continues until only one player remains.) Being the first player is very advantageous, so it's often worth taking risks — including bluffing by challenging or raising after playing a Skull — to earn that position.