Skulls of Sedlec
Skulls of Sedlec Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
18 cards, each depicting 2 skulls. The skulls are distributed as follows:
- Royals x4
- Peasants x8
- Priests x8
- Romantics x6
- Criminals x10
Terminology
Stack: A pyramid-shaped arrangement of cards that each player creates during the game.
Row: A horizontal line of cards.
Level: A horizontal line of skulls.
Adjacent: Two skulls that touch edge-to-edge are considered adjacent. Skulls are not adjacent if they only touch corner-to-corner.
Setup
Shuffle all 18 cards. Create the graveyard by making 6 face-down piles of 3 cards each, arranged into a 2x3 grid. Choose a pile and flip its top card face up. The player who most recently visited a cemetery or graveyard goes first.
Gameplay
Players take turns clockwise, choosing one of three actions each turn: Dig, Collect, or Stack.
Dig: Flip the top card face up from any 2 face-down piles in the graveyard. If there is only 1 face-down pile, flip its top card only. Then choose 1 of the cards that you flipped to place in your hand. (If you start the turn with no face-down piles in the graveyard, you may not Dig.)
Collect: Choose one face-up card from the graveyard and place it in your hand. (If you start the turn with no face-up cards in the graveyard, you may not Collect.)
The hand limit is 2 cards. If a player has 2 cards at the start of their turn they must take the Stack action to play one of their cards.
Stack: Place one card from your hand into your stack, following the Placement Rules. (If you start the turn with no cards in hand, you may not Stack).
A completed stack will have 9 cards in a 2-player game and 6 cards in a 3-player game. Completed stacks will always be arranged as follows:
- 2-player game: a pyramid of 3 rows — 4 cards in the bottom row, 3 cards in the middle row, 2 cards in the top row.
- 3-player game: a pyramid of 3 rows — 3 cards in the bottom row, 2 cards in the middle row, 1 card in the top row.
Placement Rules
The first card in a stack may be placed anywhere to start the bottom row. Additional cards may be placed in the bottom row, directly to the left or right of another card in that row, up to a maximum of 4 cards in a 2-player game or 3 in a 3-player game.
While stacks are always built starting with the bottom row, you do not need to complete a row before placing cards in a higher row. Cards may be placed in higher rows as long as they are centered directly above two adjacent cards in the row below it.
Cards may not be rotated. All cards in each player's stack must be oriented upright for that player.
End of Game
The game ends when every player has completed their stack. The stacks are then scored to determine the winner.
Scoring
Each type of skull scores points according to the last wishes of the deceased.
Royals — 1 point per Royal/Peasant below
Royals want to have many Royals and Peasants beneath them. Each Royal scores 1 point for each Royal and each Peasant in any level below it.
Example: The level 5 Royal has 1 Royal and 4 Peasants below it, so it scores 5 points. The level 3 Royal has 0 Royals and 3 Peasants below it, so it scores 3 points. The combined score for Royals is 8 points.
Peasants — 1 point
Peasants want to be displayed, but don't mind where they are placed. Each Peasant scores 1 point.
Example: There are 3 Peasants in the stack. The combined score for Peasants is 3 points.
Priests — 2 points, once per level
Priests, wanting to be spread throughout all of society, want to be represented in each level. Priests score 2 points per unique level occupied by any Priest.
Example: Priests appear in 4 different levels (1, 2, 3, and 5). The combined score for Priests is 8 points.
Romantics — 3 points if paired
Romantics want to be paired up. Each pair of two adjacent Romantics scores 6 points, but each Romantic may only score once.
Example: The Romantic in level 6 is not adjacent to another Romantic, and does not score. Two pairs can be formed from the remaining Romantics, giving a combined score of 12 points.
Criminals — 2 points if adjacent to a Priest
Criminals, looking for redemption in the afterlife, want to be adjacent to Priests. Criminals score 2 points if they are adjacent to any Priests, or 0 points if they are not.
Example: The Criminals in levels 2 and 5 score 0 points each. Those in level 3 are each adjacent to at least one Priest, so they each score 2 points. The combined score for Criminals is 4 points.
Breaking Ties
In a tie, the tied players compare the scores of their highest-scoring type of skulls to determine the winner. If they are still tied, they compare the scores of their next highest-scoring type, and so on, until a winner is determined.
Credits
Design: Dustin Dobson
Art: Marty Cobb, Dustin Dobson
Rules editing: Michael Lee
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