Photo: BCD Jeux, partner shopCard games
Skull King
Schmidt SpieleBrent Beck, Jeffrey Beck2013
- players
- 2–8
- minutes
- 40
- years
- 8+
In the box
Cards in four suits, numbered 1 to 14 (the Jolly Roger is the trump) · Special cards: Pirates, Skull King, Mermaids, Escapes · 1 score pad
Official rules (publisher's site)
Box details
- Designers
- Brent Beck, Jeffrey Beck
- Artwork
- David Bock, Eckhard Freytag, Apryl Stott
- Publisher
- Schmidt Spiele
- Mechanics
- Hand ManagementPredictive BidRock-Paper-ScissorsTrick-taking
- Expansions
- Skull King: Expansion · 2025
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Over ten rounds, from one to ten cards, bid exactly the number of tricks you will win. Everyone bids at the same time, then the tricks are played following the suit led if you can: black cards are trump, pirates beat numbered cards, the Skull King beats pirates and mermaids beat the Skull King. A bid made scores 20 points per trick, a missed bid costs 10 points per trick off, and after the tenth round the highest total wins.
Checked against the official rules · September 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
10 rounds, 1 to 10 cards each, Advanced cards removed
- Ten rounds. In the first, one card per player; in the tenth, ten cards each.
- The game contains four suits numbered from 1 to 14 — three ordinary suits and black, which is trump — plus five Escapes, five pirates, the Tigress, two mermaids and the Skull King.
- For your first games, remove the Kraken, the White Whale, the two Loot cards and the blank cards, which are kept for the advanced rules.
- With eight players, the deck is not big enough: deal eight cards each for rounds 8, 9 and 10.
How to play
Bid with your fingers, Follow suit, Black is trump
- After looking at their hand, everyone bids at the same time the number of tricks they expect to win, from zero to the number of cards: everyone shows the number with their fingers at the same moment.
- The player to the dealer's left leads the first trick, then the winner of each trick leads the next one. The deal passes to the left each round.
- You must follow the suit led if you can; special cards, however, can be played at any time.
- Black cards are trump and beat all the other suits. With no trump and no special card, the highest card of the suit led wins.
- Pirates beat all numbered cards; between pirates, the first one played wins.
- The Tigress is declared when played: pirate or Escape, as you choose.
- The Skull King beats numbered cards and all pirates. Mermaids beat numbered cards but lose to pirates, except against the Skull King, whom they capture. Between two mermaids, the first one played wins.
- Pirate, Skull King and mermaid in the same trick: the mermaid always wins, and only the bonus for the mermaid capturing the Skull King is paid.
- If an Escape is led, the next card sets the suit to follow. If a character is led, everyone plays whatever they like.
Scoring
Bid made: 20 per trick, Each trick off: −10, Bonuses if bid made
- Bid made: 20 points per trick bid.
- Bid missed: a 10-point penalty per trick off, as negative points.
- Successful zero bid: 10 points multiplied by the number of cards dealt, that is the round number. Missed, however many tricks you took: the same amount as negative points.
- Card bonuses: 10 points per 14 of an ordinary suit in your tricks, and 20 points for the black 14, the one with the pirate flag.
- Capture bonuses: 20 points per mermaid captured by a pirate, 30 per pirate captured by the Skull King, 40 if a mermaid captures the Skull King.
- Bonuses only count if the bid is made. It is the most common scoring mistake: a bonus scored on a missed bid throws off the whole table.
End of the game
After the 10th round, Highest total
- The game ends after the tenth round.
- The highest total wins, often after passing through negative scores.
House rules and pitfalls
"Rascal" scoring, provided for in the rules: each round is worth 10 points per card dealt, whatever the bid.
- "Rascal" scoring, provided for in the rules: each round is worth 10 points per card dealt, whatever the bid. Exact bid, you score them all; one trick off, half; more than that, nothing. Bonuses follow the same proportion.
- Advanced rules: the Kraken destroys the trick it is played in, nobody wins it; the White Whale turns special cards into Escapes and the highest number wins, whatever its suit. Played together, only the second one played takes effect.
- Loot card (advanced rule): it creates an alliance with the player who wins the trick; if both make their bid, each scores 20 points.
- With two players, the rules add a third hand played blind, which scores nothing.
Going further
Variants · Frequently asked questions · Rules on video · In the same family · Play with the game assistant
Variants
Number of rounds
10 rounds (official)
5 rounds (short game)
Up to five cards in hand. A twenty-minute game.
Card and capture bonuses
With bonuses
Coloured 14s, black 14, captured mermaids and pirates. They only count if the bid is made.
Without bonuses
Only the bids count. Easier to score with children.
choose them when you start a game: the scorer adapts
Frequently asked questions
Do bonuses count if you miss your bid?
No, and it is the most common scoring mistake. A black 14 or a captured mermaid scores nothing unless the bid is made exactly.
What is an Escape worth?
Nothing: it loses to every other card and obliges you to nothing. You can play it even when you could follow the suit led. If everyone escapes, the first Escape played takes the trick.
How much is a successful zero bid worth?
Ten points multiplied by the round number: 10 in the first round, 100 in the tenth. Missed, it is the same amount as negative points — the zero bid is the most rewarding and the most dangerous bet in the game.
Must you follow the suit led?
Yes, if you have it. Characters — pirates, mermaids, Escape and Skull King — are exempt from this: they can be played at any time.
Who wins a trick with the Skull King in it?
The Skull King beats all pirates and all numbered cards, but loses to a mermaid. The mermaid then wins the trick, and its owner scores a 40-point bonus if their bid is made.
What if you bid three tricks and win five?
A twenty-point penalty: 10 per trick off, as negative points. Winning more than planned costs exactly as much as winning fewer.
Rules on video
Videos in French, hosted on YouTube.