Score Skull King, round after round
Each round, you type everyone's points, bonuses and negatives included: Teamzy adds up the totals, counts the 10 rounds, ends the match after the last one and names the winner.
Skull King in 30 seconds
Skull King is a trick-taking game with bids for 2 to 8 players, free-for-all, in 10 rounds. The deck mixes four suits numbered 1 to 14, black being trump, with special cards: pirates beat every suit, the Skull King beats the pirates, and the mermaid, beaten by the pirates, captures the Skull King. In round 1 everyone gets 1 card, in round 2 two, and so on up to 10. Before playing, everyone bids at the same time how many tricks they will take. Making your bid scores points and earns the bonuses; missing it costs you. The highest total after round 10 wins.
What a bid is worth
At the end of each round, everyone compares their tricks with their bid. Bid made: 20 points for each trick bid. Bid missed: 10 points off for each trick off, over or under, and no bonus. A bid of zero is scored on its own: 10 points for each card dealt that round if you take no trick, minus as much if you take at least one. With a bid made, the bonuses are added: the 14s in your tricks, and the pirates, mermaids or Skull King captured. The highest total after round 10 wins.
The scoring, the end of the match and ties
| What counts | Points |
|---|---|
| Bid made, each trick taken | 20 |
| Bid missed, each trick off (over or under) | -10 |
| Bid of zero, no trick taken | 10 × cards this round |
| Bid of zero, at least one trick taken | −10 × cards this round |
| Bonus: each suit 14, the black 14, in your tricks | 10, 20 |
| Capture bonus: a mermaid by a pirate, each pirate by the Skull King, the Skull King by a mermaid | 20, 30, 40 |
| Bonus | only if the bid is made |
| End of the match | After round 10 |
| Same total at the end | tie |
The points of a round, trick by trick
A bid made is worth 20 points a trick: 60 for 3 tricks bid and taken, 200 for 10 tricks in the last round. A bid missed costs 10 points for each trick off, whatever the number of tricks taken.
| Tricks | Bid made: that many tricks bid and taken | Bid missed: that many tricks off |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | -10 |
| 2 | 40 | -20 |
| 3 | 60 | -30 |
| 4 | 80 | -40 |
| 5 | 100 | -50 |
| 6 | 120 | -60 |
| 7 | 140 | -70 |
| 8 | 160 | -80 |
| 9 | 180 | -90 |
| 10 | 200 | -100 |
The bid of zero, round by round
A bid of zero is worth 10 points for each card dealt, so the longer the round, the bigger the bet: 10 in round 1, 100 in round 10. Take one trick, or more, and you lose as much.
| Round (cards) | Bid of zero made: no trick taken | Bid of zero missed: at least one trick taken |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | -10 |
| 2 | 20 | -20 |
| 3 | 30 | -30 |
| 4 | 40 | -40 |
| 5 | 50 | -50 |
| 6 | 60 | -60 |
| 7 | 70 | -70 |
| 8 | 80 | -80 |
| 9 | 90 | -90 |
| 10 | 100 | -100 |
The bonuses, with a bid made
Bonuses only count if your bid is made. A 14 counts as soon as it is in your tricks at the end of the round, whether you played it or not. A capture counts for the player who wins the trick, whatever the order the cards were played in.
| Bonus | Points |
|---|---|
| Each suit 14 (yellow, purple, green) in your tricks | 10 |
| The black 14 in your tricks | 20 |
| Each mermaid captured by your pirate | 20 |
| Each pirate captured by your Skull King | 30 |
| The Skull King captured by your mermaid | 40 |
The last round of the example, player by player
Round 10 of the match told below, with 10 cards each. Lucas, ahead since round 1, bids 1 trick; Nathan, 10 points behind, bids 3.
| Player | Bid | Tricks taken | Working | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emma | 4 | 4 | made: 4 × 20 + 10 (suit 14) | 90 |
| Lucas | 1 | 0 | missed: 1 × -10 | -10 |
| Chloé | 3 | 3 | made: 3 × 20 | 60 |
| Nathan | 3 | 3 | made: 3 × 20 + 30 (pirate captured by the Skull King) | 90 |
The sheet of the example
The 10 rounds of the four-player match told below: for each player, their points and, in small print, their bid, the tricks they took and their bonuses. A negative score is a bid missed. The “After 9 rounds” line shows Lucas ahead before the last one.
| Round | Emma | Lucas | Chloé | Nathan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 (bid 0, took 0) | 20 (bid 1, took 1) | 10 (bid 0, took 0) | 10 (bid 0, took 0) |
| 2 | 20 (bid 1, took 1) | 20 (bid 0, took 0) | -10 (bid 1, took 0) | -20 (bid 0, took 1) |
| 3 | 20 (bid 1, took 1) | 20 (bid 1, took 1) | 30 (bid 0, took 0) | 30 (bid 1, took 1, bonus 10) |
| 4 | -10 (bid 2, took 1) | 40 (bid 0, took 0) | -10 (bid 1, took 2) | 20 (bid 1, took 1) |
| 5 | 40 (bid 2, took 2) | 20 (bid 1, took 1) | 50 (bid 0, took 0) | 70 (bid 2, took 2, bonus 30) |
| 6 | -10 (bid 2, took 3) | 30 (bid 1, took 1, bonus 10) | -10 (bid 2, took 1) | 20 (bid 1, took 1) |
| 7 | 80 (bid 3, took 3, bonus 20) | 70 (bid 0, took 0) | 40 (bid 2, took 2) | 40 (bid 2, took 2) |
| 8 | -10 (bid 3, took 2) | 40 (bid 2, took 2) | -10 (bid 1, took 2) | 80 (bid 2, took 2, bonus 40) |
| 9 | 60 (bid 3, took 3) | 90 (bid 0, took 0) | 80 (bid 3, took 3, bonus 20) | 90 (bid 3, took 3, bonus 30) |
| After 9 rounds | 200 | 350 | 170 | 340 |
| 10 | 90 (bid 4, took 4, bonus 10) | -10 (bid 1, took 0) | 60 (bid 3, took 3) | 90 (bid 3, took 3, bonus 30) |
| Total | 290 | 340 | 230 | 430 |
The score sheet to print
A Skull King score sheet in US Letter landscape, for 2 to 8 players and all 10 rounds: for each player, their bid, the tricks they took, their bonuses and their total every round. The scoring is recapped at the bottom. Print it for your next match, or let Teamzy keep score.
Download the Skull King score sheet (PDF)A match of Skull King won on the bonuses
Emma, Lucas, Chloé and Nathan play with four, over 10 rounds. Lucas leads from round 1 to round 9, carried by his bids of zero: 20 points in round 2, 40 in round 4, 70 in round 7 and 90 in round 9. Nathan, for his part, collects the bonuses: a suit 14, two pirates captured by his Skull King and the Skull King captured by his mermaid. After round 9, Lucas has 350 points, Nathan 340, Emma 200 and Chloé 170. One round is left, with 10 cards each.
- 1Round 10, everyone bids: 4 tricks for Emma, 1 for Lucas, 3 for Chloé and 3 for Nathan.
- 2Lucas takes no trick: one trick off, -10. He bid 1, not zero, so his mistake only costs him 10 points.
- 3Nathan takes his 3 tricks (60) and his Skull King captures a pirate: a 30 bonus, 90 points. Emma takes her 4 tricks (80) with a suit 14 (10): 90 points too. Chloé takes her 3 tricks: 60.
- 4The totals: Nathan 340 + 90 = 430, Lucas 350 - 10 = 340, Emma 200 + 90 = 290 and Chloé 170 + 60 = 230.
Nathan wins with 430 points, 90 more than Lucas, who had led the whole match. His bonuses, 140 points in all, made the difference: in Skull King, a bid made scores more than its tricks, it also scores the cards captured.
In Teamzy, each round, you type everyone's points, bonuses included: 90 for Emma, -10 for Lucas with the ± button, 60 for Chloé and 90 for Nathan. The app adds up the totals, stops on its own after round 10 (“All 10 rounds are played: the match is over.”) and names the winner.
The questions that come up at the table
At the end of each round, everyone compares their tricks with their bid. Bid made: 20 points a trick (3 bid, 3 taken: 60), plus the bonuses. Bid missed: -10 for each trick off, over or under, with no bonus (2 bid, 4 taken: -20). Bid of zero: 10 points for each card of the round if you take no trick, minus as much otherwise. Points add up from round to round, and the highest total after round 10 wins.
Skull King rulebook from Grandpa Beck's Games (PDF)10 points for each card dealt that round if you take no trick: 10 in round 1, 90 in round 9, 100 in round 10. If you take a trick, or more, you lose as much. In the example match, Lucas makes his bid of zero in round 9 and scores 90 points; Nathan misses his in round 2 and loses 20.
Only with a bid made: 10 for each suit 14 and 20 for the black 14 in your tricks, 20 for each mermaid captured by your pirate, 30 for each pirate captured by your Skull King, 40 if your mermaid captures the Skull King. With a bid missed, you lose your bonuses. In the example, in round 8, Nathan bids 2, takes 2 tricks and his mermaid captures the Skull King: 40 + 40, so 80 points.
The rulebook says nothing about ties: it only names the highest total after round 10. In Teamzy, the same top total at the end gives a tie.
Teamzy follows the current rulebook. If your box is older and your rulebook gives other values, follow your rulebook. The current rulebook also offers another scoring, Rascal's Scoring, where everyone plays for the same points each round, whatever their bid, and advanced cards (Loot, Kraken, White Whale) with their own effects. In Teamzy, you type the points of the round: they add up the same way, whichever scoring you chose. The app's help shows the classic scoring.
They belong to the same family: you bid the number of tricks you will take, and everything rides on that bid. The scoring differs. In Wizard, a bid made is worth 20 points plus 10 a trick, and the number of rounds depends on the number of players. In Skull King, it is worth 20 points a trick, plus the bonuses, the bid of zero depends on the number of cards, and the match always lasts 10 rounds. Teamzy scores both.
Wizard scoringAt the end of the round, type everyone's points, bonuses included: 90 for 3 tricks bid and taken with a pirate captured by the Skull King, -10 for one trick off with the ± button. The scoring is in the “How do you count the points?” help. The app adds up the totals, ranks from highest to lowest, ends the match after round 10 and keeps it in the history, with its curve.
Your next game of Skull King, with no pen and paper
Type the points of each round, bonuses and negatives included, let the app add up the totals, count the 10 rounds and name the winner, and find your matches in the history. Free to start, Premium as a one-time purchase, no account and no ads.
