Skull King Rules

Skull King is a trick-taking game combining four suits of numbered cards with powerful specials such as Pirates, Mermaids, the Skull King and Escapes. Each round you place a secret bid and score big when your prediction is exactly right.

• 4 suits × 1-14 = 56 cards. Black is trump.
• Pirates ×5 — beat Mermaids, numbers and Escapes.
• Mermaids ×2 — beat numbers and Escapes; lose to Pirates but beat the Skull King.
• Skull King ×1 — beats everything except Mermaids (rock-paper-scissors loop).
• Escapes ×5 — always lose; never take the trick.

1. Deal 1 card in round 1, 2 in round 2, ... 10 in round 10.
2. Bid: secretly choose a number from 0 to N for the tricks you intend to win.
3. Trick: the lead plays one card and others follow clockwise. You must follow suit if able (specials may always be played).
4. The strongest card wins the trick and that player leads the next.
5. When all cards are played the round ends and scoring is resolved.

• Bid 0 and take exactly 0: +10 × round bonus.
• Bid 0 and fail: −10 × round.
• Bid ≥1 and match exactly: +20 × bid.
• Bid ≥1 and miss: −10 × |difference|.

After 10 rounds the highest total score wins. Scores can go negative, so bid carefully.