Skull King
Skull King is a trick-taking game similar to Oh Hell!; Wizard; Euchre and Spades; with players needing to state how many tricks they think they'll win each round. A unique element of this game is that bidding takes place simultaneously; leading to rounds that are sometimes over; or under-bid. As players must win the exact number of tricks that they bid to earn points; winning too many tricks is just as bad as winning too few and this leads to intense competition where losing a trick can be as exciting as winning one.
Skull King uses a 66-card deck that consists of five Escape cards; four suits numbered 1-13; five Pirate cards; 1 Tigress card; and 1 Skull King card. The game lasts ten rounds; and in each round; each player is dealt as many cards as the number of the round. All players simultaneously bid on the number of tricks they think they'll take by holding out a fist and on the count of three revealing a certain number of fingers (or possibly a closed fist for a bid of zero tricks).
Standard rules apply for the playing of cards; with one player leading off a card and other players following suit; if possible; and playing something else if not; however; a player may always choose to play one of the special; unnumbered cards — and the power of those cards might let you win a trick that otherwise would have gotten away. In more detail; the black Jolly Roger suit trumps the other three suits; a Mermaid trumps all numbered cards; a Pirate trumps the Mermaid; and the Skull King trumps everything — except if he appears in the same trick with a Mermaid; in which case she captures him and wins instead. An Escape card loses to any other card; and the Tigress card serves as either a pirate or escape card as desired by the player. Whoever wins a trick leads in the next trick.
If a player makes their bid exactly; they score 20 points per trick; if they collect more or fewer tricks; they lose 10 points per trick they are off. If a player makes a bid of zero tricks; they win points equal to ten times the current round number — but if they take even a single trick; they lose this many points instead. If a player catches pirates with the Skull King; or the King with a mermaid; they score bonus points. Whoever has the most points after ten rounds wins.
