I’ve had a weird long standing relationship with sugar skulls and I honestly cannot explain it. About 20 years ago my childhood best friend and I were traveling through Colombia when we walked past a tattoo shop with a sugar skull in the window. We looked at each other, made a very questionable life decision, and walked out with matching tattoos. I was barely 18. My family was thrilled, obviously
Fast forward to now and nothing has changed. If I see sugar skull art, I’m instantly interested. So, when I spotted a small box named Skull on a shelf a few years ago, I didn't need to read the back. The art looked cute, and trusting my gut, I just bought it. It turned out to be a delightful surprise
Skull looks like a cute little art piece, but it’s actually one of the cleanest bluffing games out there. And I say that as someone who is famously bad at bluffing games. Skull is basically math wearing a Day of the Dead poker face.
Skull
Designed by Hervé Marly Art by Rose Kipik and Thomas Vuarchex
3 to 6 players | ~20 minutes | Bluffing and deduction
COMPONENTS
- Rulebook
- 24 Thick Coasters: 4 for each player. 3 roses and one skull
- 6 Player Mats: square coasters to keep score
HOW IT PLAYS
Everyone starts with four discs. Three roses and one skull. The vibe is pure speakeasy energy. You secretly choose one coaster and place it face down on your mat
On your turn you: add another disc or start a challenge by calling a number
Then everyone can raise the bid until someone commits
The challenger flips their own stack first. If it’s all roses, they start flipping from other players until they hit their number
Hit only roses and you score a win. Hit a skull at any point and you lose a disc at random permanently
First to complete two successful challenges wins
It sounds simple. It absolutely is. And yet it turns into pure table tension every time!
PROS
-
Fast turns
-
Easy teach
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Zero downtime
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Language independent
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Works with almost anyone
- Super portable, I take the coasters out of the box throw them on my meeple bag or
- in a ziploc bag and voila!
CONSIDERATIONS
Player elimination can feel rough if someone loses all their discs earlyAnalysis Paralysis: some turns can drag when people overthink the bluff
BOTTOM LINE
Skull is bluffing at its purest. It strips everything down to tension, timing, and nerve. Quick, sharp, and way more thoughtful than it first looks. It’s my default pub game when we want a bluffing game to settle something mildly important like who is picking the restaurant for dinner
MORE GAMES LIKE SKULL
- Flip 7 for the same shared experience with lighter chaos
- DUBITO for a similar experience but with dice
- For the same feel: Cockroach Poker for more table lies
- No bluffing and harder? Any game in the Clever Series if you want to suffer in a different mathematical direction
About the Author:
Coty is a board game blogger, reviewer, and accidental LEGO art collector. When she’s not testing rulebooks or trying to beat her wife at two-player games, she’s playing ice hockey. Follow her adventures on Instagram or read more at KaCo Plays.
