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Skull

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Play OverviewPlay Overview

Skull (2011) is a push-your-luck card game where you try and guess how many other players just laid skulls rather than flowers. The clever bit is that you progressively bid on how many cards you think you can guess right. If you win, you then have to flip over the number of cards you bid without hitting a skull. It's a clever spin on Bridge where you must balance the achievability of your bids with pushing other players to bid too high.

Play begins with each player having four beer-mat-shaped discs, three flowers and one skull. In each round, all players simultaneously choose one card and place it face down in front of them. Then you take turns to either add a card to your stack until the first bet is placed.

When a player bids, the next player can either raise or pass and step out of the round. When there is only one player left in the round, they attempt to find the number of flowers they bid on. But there's a catch, they have to start by revealing all of their discs first. If they find the flowers without hitting a skull they get a point. If they fail they lose a card from their hand and a new round starts.

The result is a simple party game that has a real depth of strategy. You may play a skull into your stack and then bluff by bidding to fool other players into thinking you have played no skulls. Or you may use some insight into other players' tactics to accurately guess how many flowers you can find. It's a deceptively simple push-your-luck game with a really fun final reveal when someone wins the bid.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Skull 23 months ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 14 months ago.
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Play StylePlay Style

This is a Communication game with Push-Your-Luck and Sequencing elements. You can play with 3 to 6 players in the same room.

 
You can play this game in the following styles:

DurationDuration

Learn to Play: This takes 5 minutes to learn. It's quick to learn, although understanding how challenging it can be to achieve a certain bid needs some practice.

The first time you play it can help if you:
  • Play a round with the placed cards face up.
  • Try achieving some different-size bids to see how tricky it can become.

Play Time: This game will take between 15 minutes and 45 minutes to complete.

Age RatingsAge Ratings

Skill Level

8+ year-olds usually have the required skill to enjoy this game. You need to understand how bidding works and the tactics of pushing people to higher bids than they really want to make.

Content Rating

We rate this suitable for 3+ years-olds.

CostsCosts

There are no additional in-game purchases, loot boxes, adverts or subscription costs.

DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 01/01/2011

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Players: 3-6

Genres: Communication (Push-Your-Luck and Sequencing)

Accessibility: 0 features documented (Tweet Developer )

Components: Cards

Developer: Zatu Games (@ZatuGames)


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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