Skull - Card Games That Don't Suck
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ม.ค. 2025
- Buy Skull: bit.ly/3NVMmd9 In US: amzn.to/3OWlk6S In CA: bit.ly/3PcIYvF
Rules reference: boardgamegeek....
Support the Show: bit.ly/Support... / / shutupandsitdown
Musical sting courtesy of Steve Davit: open.spotify.c...
~FOLLOW US AROUND, WHY DON'T YOU~
Podcast: anchor.fm/susd
Twitter: / shutupshow
Instagram: / shut.up.and.sit.down
Twitch: / shutupandsitdown
TikTok: / shutupshow
The absolute best moment in teaching Skull to new players, is when you make a big, a new player outbids you and wins then goes to pick up the cards in front of you and realises you'd played a Skull. That moment where every new player at the table realises just how much bluffing can go into such a simple game is a truly magic moment.
There is one significant difference between this and playing with the skull & roses coasters (as you do in the retail version). Because the numbered cards aren't identical, you can potentially give away that you have lost your face card without someone needing to turn over all of your cards. Example - Let's say you have 3 cards left (numbered 7, 8, 9), and someone turns over your 7 and 8 cards one round. If you put down just your 9 the next round and it is revealed - everyone will know you have no face card. This is not something that would be deducible with identical cards/coasters. So you might have to remind people that if they are going to play a number card, they should always play the lowest number card they have to prevent that early reveal (I would love to say that this is what I tell people, but we usually play this as a drinking game, and I want to win).
Oh, and this also allows for an added layer of subterfuge. Because if people had noticed you were always playing a 7 as your first card, and then noticed you'd suddenly started playing an 8 as your first card, they might presume that you'd lost your 7 and stay worried about your face card. But actually the 7 might be in your hand the whole time and you'd lost your face card, but those fools still think you have it. God I love this game.
I thought about always playing the lowest card first as a way to go back to the original, except that you might play all three number cards, and then someone reveals just your top card. So it's not identical, but you're right; it's not the same, but that can be interesting too!
You could always buy a blank-faced deck from a magic dealers. I have about 20 of them in my decks-of-cards suitcase :0
Nik Holliday if ur gonna buy something for the game it might as well be... the game
@@chucktheduck7354 Skull on amazon - $24.99 - 1 game that can be played.
Blank card deck on amazon - $2.99 - Many uses for games and magic tricks.
(These were simply the first prices I saw but the point is still clear)
We play this game with a deck of cards too. However, we play that you don't lose cards if you flip the "skull", instead if you win the round you get a face up card from the unused deck and if you lose you get a face down card from the unused deck. We play until there are no more unused cards and then we score +1 for every face up card and -1 for every face down card, in the event of a tie most total cards wins. We also have a couple of other house rules where if you win the bid 1 and you get caught with the skull (eg you played a skull trying to trick others to bid - we call it getting caught fishing) you take 2 face down cards from the unused deck. And finally if everyone has put at least 2 cards down in the round you can say you're riding the lighting (bidding the max) and everyone flips their cards and if you win you get 2 face up cards from the unused deck.
anything else? I'd like to see a full rules writeup
You could easily do this to seat 13 with a deck of 52. Just give everyone four of the same card, and declare a suit that's your skull. (And clearly the right answer is Spades.)
well yea, the ace gives that away
I figuered that I could play that way with a Spanish suit (more common than french suit where I am from), and yes, using swords as the deadly suit is the only right choice, being declared dead by gold coins or a chalice is not the same.
I was actually thinking this would be a great game to play in an RPG tavern, pretty simple rules and easier to set up than poker.
Please bring back this series I need to be introduced to more interesting card games
I love this series and that Quinns is quickly falling into the hobby of collecting playing cards.
Skull is a great game, the only problem with the retail "coaster" set, is that people think they are actual coasters. Be careful when other people walk up to see what the game is about and set their drink down.
Two improvements I've made to the flow of the game (imo): first, don't take turns playing your first card, instead call this the ante, and have everyone "ante in" before the first player starts (this speeds things up, and means there's no exception to what can be done when it's your turn, which is easier still to learn); second, yes keep the free-for-all bidding, but have ties go to the player clockwise of the last bidder (like it would have gone in the slower version), so there's no confusion or anger about who wins a close call.
Love the game! I bought two sets after watching y'all's review, and I have successfully taught it to non gamers drinking in a noisy bar!
? But the first chip/card is the most important, and you gotta watch everyone seperately putting it down. Skull is a game of pure bluffing, and your opponents faces and behavior is almost the only thing you can go on. So having everyone put down the first card/chip at the same time would completely change how I collect information and play this game.
Yes, it would. Downside: could feel more random if no one is able to get as good of a read on anyone. Upside (besides being quicker): when playing with multiple skill levels, the best players will get more of your focus, giving the newbies a bit of a "skill catch-up" mechanic.
The second card is the more fun decision to watch imo, because half the players are staring at hands full of numbers (flowers) and trying to pretend like they still have to make a decision, and I think there's something fun about that being the first time they feel like they're being watched.
100% agree on open bidding. Tried it a ton with open bidding and I think it's much better.
I don't have a lot of friends whom I can tame into playing any true board games, and rarely any table games, but I can almost always gets people down for Skull. It's an absolute must-know game.
Around 5:10 you say that the first player of the next round is the player whose skull was revealed if the previous bid was unsuccessful. In the rules for my edition (with the biker gang art), I'm pretty sure it says the player who made the bid, whether successful or not, goes first. The only exception is if they get knocked out, then the player to their left takes over (I think). Not really a big deal either way. I don't think the game balance or fun changes based on the first player rule.
The current retail printing has the same rule. Going first provides a slight advantage since you can start the bidding low before anyone else, losing that advantage to "someone who played a skull" would add incentive to playing skulls and might knock the game out of balance.
This is correct. "Whether the bet has been won or lost,
the challenger is the first player for
the next round, which starts again at phase 1."
It's a HUGE part of the strategy, actually. Since making a challenge and losing still means you can start the bidding next round. This is a big part of the strategy if you have 1 point, and need to get control of the bidding to lock it down.
That's rly interesting! Thanks for sharing. My version is played the same way as the video, but I think I'd switch it up to try different rules
I think it does make a significant change to the game. In the printed version, it's sometimes worth bidding high just to get first turn even if it means giving up a disk. In the version described here, that wouldn't work.
So we played this a couple of weeks ago for the millionth time and went full on Southern Riverboat accents. Then we found big hats. It was amazing. Honestly, that 2 hour Skull session is in my top 10 favourite memories of board gaming. Brilliant game.
Per the real SKULL rules: If you're the challenger, point or not - you're going first in the next round. Actually big part of the strategy if you're trying to get control of the bidding for your second point, esp in a larger game.
This is a really cool segment. If we are somewhere where there are no games, a deck of cards is always much easier to find. Please keep it up
you can even play this with coasters, give every player 4 coasters, 1 marked with an X for each player. so if youre in a pub or something you can still play
We played this game with a deck of ticket to ride cards. That way we each could pick one colour (for the same three cards) and one locomotive as the skull. We played with 3 and it was loads of fun.
Another variant I've played with is that you may treat your pile of cards as if it was any pile. Meaning you don't have to flip it over, but start out with 1 card and go to other players. It worked well enough.
My siblings and i play a drinking game variation of this where if you succeed at your bid, you get to pour into a communal cup.
If you fail, you drink whatever’s in the cup.
Things tend to get messy when we play this.
5:02 “...because if you are left holding a face card, there’s no way you can win.” Not true. Everyone has to be fairly low, but if nobody hits your skull or calls your bluff to find out you have it until the last remaining other player makes a call and hits one... let’s just say it’s very hard, and very unlikely, but if you can bluff like Captain Jim Goddamn Kirk, you CAN win by being the last player standing with only a skull remaining.
Right. The rules, in my copy at least (not sure if they change from one edition to the next), say you lose if it is ever REVEALED that you have only a skull. So until the rest of the table knows it, you're safe.
First time our group played this was with a deck of card while on vacation in Cuba. When we got home I ordered the retail version immediately.
I bought skulls, several people love it! But carrying around coasters is unrealistic... the fact that a regular card deck instantly becomes an amazing game is crazy
Quinn’s! Where’s the shirt Quinn’s!?
In my copy of Skull, the player who starts each round is always whoever won the bid the previous round, regardless of whether they hit a skull or not. That can lead to purposefully winning a bid, knowing you will hit a skull, just so you can start the next round and control it.
-- Also note: -- This game is a great game in coronavirus times, concerning hygiene rules.
Every player has their own 4-card deck, and it's possible to play without even touching each other's deck; pointing to the player you want to flip their own cards rather than flipping them yourself.
So you could even play this at a table with plexiglass between all the players. This truly is a coronaproof game!
Interesting that you use a court card as the skull and number cards as the roses. When I use a deck of cards to play this at Hannukah or visiting family for Christmas, I use 3 red cards for the roses and 1 black card for the skull (I feel it fits the skulls and roses aesthetic a little more, plus seeing someone flip over a black card is like an instant realization they fucked up. Hollering ensues)
Could you guys make a "dice games that don't suck" series?
Holy shit my group have been playing Skull wrong all this time- we've been playing that if you hit your own skull you lose a card at random rather than choosing which card you lose. I guess we've been playing Hardcore mode?
I think in the video with the actual retail game Matt says it is the random way. This definitely seems like a house rule where both are correct, I think losing one at random is more fun because it keeps everyone guessing and makes the player who loses a card have to improvise/think more.
This is a great quick card game. We have had a lot of fun playing this game. Definitely recommend buying the big cardboard coaster set. It looks beautiful.
I have always played by the popcorn bidding variant, and it is absolutely the best way to play. Raising your own bid because someone takes too long to raise you is an unparalleled great time.
HEY IT'S ANNI
#suggestion There's a card game called Choker you might be interested to try. Chess+poker. I've seen Quinns at least has a chess set and poker set haha, so just need the cards. I'm not entirely sold on it myself, managed to get a free pack of choker cards at a release day they had midway through a chess tournament I was at a year ago. You play a round of 'poker' getting a hand of cards that correspond to chess pieces, then if the game goes through to the final hand of betting, instead of revealing your hand, you place pieces on the chess board and play out a game of blitz with what you have. It has potential to be quite fun :) cheers
The contrast and saturation of this episode is really playing havoc with Kylie's lipstick WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS YOU MONSTERS
I can't wait till my kids grow up to play this with them.
Contrary to what mentioned twice in the video, you can still win with only one face card (or skull) left in your hand! And that's when other players loose all their cards.
There's something funny about someone from England using the USA themed deck.
Love your videos and skull is possibly my favorite game cause I can always get people to sit through the teach.
After you’ve flipped all of your own cards, do you have to flip open ALL of another player’s cards?
Or can you choose to flip only one card and the choose another player’s card?
Kenny Tan you can choose to jump between two players, you do not have to flip all their cards. But that’s how I’ve always played it, my apologies if I’m wrong
I believe you're allowed to jump between players, so long as you meet the following two conditions:
1) All your own cards must be flipped before you can flip other player's cards.
2) You can't flip a card that currently has another face-down card over it.
Other than that, feel free to jump between players all you want!
@@NoChance18 Just replying to second what Dale said.
Dale Wilson Thanks. That’s how I remember Matt explaining the game. When Annie opened all of Quinn’s cards, I wasn’t so sure.
I've used 3 red cards and one black or vice versa (not colorblind-friendly, of course).
Speaking as someone with colour blind siblings, they can tell hearts and diamonds from clubs and spades
I forgot about that. LOL.
New to the channel and I enjoy learning new card games. But wording is very important when you are teaching the rules. Less than 1 minute in and I hear everyone is going to have exactly the same hand. Noone has the same hand!
3 roses and a skull, thats what he meant.
Okay I think this might be the best game in this series so far. Fight the Landlord is also good.
One rule that I think was missed was that if you win the bid, flip your cards, and reveal a skull / face card you played, you get to choose the card you lose, it isn't random.
Wasn't missed - came up as text at 4:55
@@jimbosphorus Thanks, teaches me for watching while washing dishes!
(Paused at 5:04 because I don't want to burn up all my data)
Interestingly I tried doing Skull with a deck of cards a while back, but I chose black cards as the skulls, red as the roses, yet you've gone with faces/numbers. Any reason why?
doesnt matter, i always give every player all 4 cards of each rank and make spades the skull
My friends like to play a version where all the cards are played blind so you don’t no if your skull is down or not. I prefer knowing, but the stress of not knowing and still trying to bet on it is pretty intense.
the point of the game is bluffing, you cant bluff if you dont know your own cards.
then its just a guessing game with no skill involved
Sweet!! Thanks for sharing this :)
This game is soooo awesome! I think it's my second favourite game behind Twilight Imperium. One takes 5 Minutes to play, the other takes 5 hours to play! Coincidence? ...
So what's the game that takes 5 days to play?
Can someone please clarify 1 rule.
When flipping cards after successful bid, do I need to flip someone's entire stack or can I mix and match between just the top cards of different stacks? Thanks
You flip your entire stack first.
Then you can mix and match other piles, but must start from the top-most unflipped token of their stacks.
Isn't there a rule that you always need to flip all your own cards before moving on? Or maybe it was mentioned and I missed it...
the problem with the retail version of this game is that the discs get marked very easily :-(
I really love this series!
Next video, don't mess with cthulhu/ TimeBomb very easy to get done with a deck of cards. Also, Love Letter or coup
I guess that "Love Letter", "Secret Hitler", "Timebomb" and "Coup" are very easy to play with a regular deck also.
Did I miss the important part where you say you only have to be right twice to win?
Also, worth re-emphasising that if you're called, you HAVE to turn ALL your own cards over first, so you can never be right if you've placed a skull, but you can never get someone out if you don't...
You *can* get a point if you played a skull. Play Skull > Play Rose > Bid one > No one outbids you > You flip only your rose on the top and win.
It'd be really rare, but if everyone is convinced your top card is a skull and/or all THEY've all played a skull, it can happen!
More of these please
I always found that if you play using a particular suit as skulls instead of face cards you can fit in an extra player. But it does not look as nice.
I typically play red number cards as roses, and black face cards as Skulls for maximum visibility, and then just add extra decks.
I have that deck! I love the theory11 stuff.
'Maths', Quins.... it's 'maths'.
Is the comercial version also suited for 10-12 players?
Why can you not win if you only have your face/skull left? Couldn't you still win by being the last one standing?
Ah, yes! It would require the other players to not realise you've only got a face card left, *and* to outbid you every single time you're forced to bid.
It's not something we've ever seen happen, but who knows? It's theoretically possible.
Practically it's almost impossible because if you ever have to reveal your final card (or someone else reveals it) then your opponents can easily make it so that you are forced to let them win or bid on your own skull.
You can - and I've done it! I was terrified people would turn over my skull and leave me powerless but it somehow never happened.
So you couldn't win by getting points. You'd have to have everyone else go out (and have no one else pick your tile). You'd have to be 1:1 with a person with one tile left, and that tile needs to be skull. If it isn't, they would just start the bidding with 1, and you'd have to pass, since you can't flip your own. If it is a skull...they have to go first, else you have to bid. I'm trying to wrap my brain around it. If it's possible, it's highly improbable.
Al Fredo you are assuming perfect play which is rare in most groups. (I know there are groups in which this kind of deduction is standard practice)
This is like liar's dice, but with cards?
Hearts is also a great card game.
So who is the lady on the left? The lady on the right is the intern, but how does the lady on the left fit in the picture? Someone's wife? Just a friend? Work for Shut Up and Sit Down?
Skull is amazing. I had to buy the retail version of the game, but I love how you can play with almost anything!
Just tried the game and instantly got annoyed by the overbid controversy. I’m 99% sure it was an oversight in the game development because the rules just say a bid has to be higher then a previous bid but it doesn’t explain who would discard the card if someone did overbid. I feel like whoever came up with the game did think that the max bid was the number of cards but not because of the strategy but because it made sense so it never specifies in the rules. Personally I think overbidding is fair game but I hate feeling like I’m not playing the game right. (The fact that I’m the vid they’re playing with a max bid makes me feel worse about it)
What does overbid mean here?
@@quantumpotato bid more than the number of cards on the table
@@chucktheduck7354 you just physically can't bid that much. It's not a valid bid
So, I thought I was in love with Annie but Kylie is stealing my heart - David
I am confused. I get that you are playing with cards and not the actual skull game with coasters, but your rules are way different. For example that you have to flip all of your own cards first and that you have to flip other people's cards in order. None of that is in the up to 6 player game with coasters. If you could only win a flip by not playing a skull then the game would be a lot harder to win and not near as much fun because you can't bluff people with in what order you played your coasters to see if they get your skull or flower because they have to go in order. Playing this differently is fine, I am just confused about where these changes came from. I prefer the other version.
However I should add, I have never read the instructions to my gameset. I learned the game from a friend, bought it, and continued to play it how he taught me. So this may be the proper way to play. I still think I prefer the way my friend taught me though.
@@Ddraft777The Skull rules say that you have to flip all your own cards first, and then you can start flipping cards of any other players, as long as you flip from top to bottom.
I've done this, but everyone got confused. Easier with the proper Skull game. It's a phycological thing.
In canada this card game is called bullshit
This seems to be close to the german game Bluff, but with cards instead of dice giving you more control about what is happening... Nice!
Whats to stop the 1st player from playing 1 card, then when it gets back to him he bids 1 and just wins his own card, then repeats next turn and wins?
edit: oh the other players could out bid, basically they are forced to. Bidding 1 can be a fun bluff though about what you put down.
Annie looks like Emma watson
When we play, we force you to discard two cards instead of one when you get a bomb. It seemed to balance the game better for us.
That is a very interesting game!
card game recommendation "Exploding Kittens"
I miss SUSD board game reviews.
Fantastic choice of cards #theory11
I had no idea y'all were friends with Emma Watson.
There is something flawed in its execution, but- I think this is one of your greatest series. I’ve been playing at least one card game with peers every game night and I can blame this series for making these games accessible.
The 9 people who disliked this video make me sick. This is another bloody brilliant video done by professionals, show some respect!