Skull

To set up the game, each player selects a set of four cards, which includes three flower cards and one skull card, all with identical backs. Players also take a corresponding player board and place it face-up in front of them, with the empty side showing. The four cards are held in hand, hidden from other players. The player who most recently gave flowers to someone is designated as the first player.

The objective of Skull is to be the first player to win two rounds. A round is won by successfully revealing a declared number of flower cards without uncovering any skull cards. Alternatively, if all other players are eliminated from the game, the last remaining player automatically wins.

Skull is played in successive rounds, with turns proceeding clockwise. On their turn, a player has two options: they can either place one of their cards face-down on their player board (or on top of any cards already on their board), or they can initiate a bid. To bid, a player announces a number, representing how many flower cards they believe they can reveal from the stack of face-down cards without revealing a skull. Once a bid is made, subsequent players can either raise the bid or pass. If a player passes, they push their player board towards the center of the table and are out of the current bidding phase.

When only one player remains in the bidding phase (because all others have passed), that player becomes the 'challenger' for the round. The challenger must then reveal the number of cards they bid, starting with their own cards from top to bottom, then moving to other players' cards one by one. If the challenger successfully reveals only flower cards, they win the round and flip their player board to its flower side. If they reveal a skull card, they lose the round and must randomly discard one of their own cards, chosen by the player whose skull was revealed. If the challenger reveals their own skull, they randomly discard one of their own cards.

The game concludes when one of two conditions is met: either a player successfully wins a second round (meaning they have flipped their player board to the flower side and then won another round), or all other players have been eliminated from the game. If a player runs out of cards, they are eliminated. In the latter case, the last player remaining in the game is declared the winner. If the challenger from the previous round is still in the game, they start the new round. Otherwise, if a skull was revealed, the player whose skull was revealed starts the new round. If the challenger revealed their own skull, they choose who starts the new round.