How to Play Skull: Roses, Skulls, Bidding & Challenges
Skull is a pure bluffing game. Each player has four discs—three flowers/roses and one skull—and tries to win two challenges without revealing a skull.
Start by placing one disc face down
Every player places one disc onto their own mat/stack. Nobody reveals whether it is a flower or skull.
On your turn, add a disc or start a challenge
If you still have discs available, you may add another face-down disc to your own stack. Instead, you may begin bidding by declaring how many total discs you believe you can reveal without finding a skull.
Once bidding starts, only raise or pass
Players may increase the number of discs they claim they can reveal safely or drop out of the bidding. The last remaining/highest bidder becomes the challenger.
The challenger reveals their own stack first
Beginning with the top disc of their own stack, the challenger must reveal all of their own placed discs before choosing discs from opponents. Opponent stacks are also revealed from the top.
Reveal only flowers to succeed
If the challenger reaches the bid total without exposing any skull, the challenge succeeds. Mark one victory; a second successful challenge wins the game.
Reveal a skull and lose a disc
If the challenger reveals any skull before completing the bid, the challenge fails and the challenger loses one of their discs following the rulebook procedure. Losing your final disc eliminates you.