non-extreme, entirely normal $0,000 game of Skull

I invited @LivBoeree, Rohin from @MedlifeCrisis, and Mark from @CrackingTheCryptic to play Skull in the back of a pub. No big prizes: just bragging rights and the end card of the video.
Skull is designed by Hervé Marly; its official site is www.skull-and-roses.com/ and the set we used is available on Amazon UK here: amzn.to/3ze5uf3 (that's an affiliate link)
My main channel: / tomscottgo
Liv: / livboeree
Rohin: / medlifecrisis
Mark: / crackingthecryptic
I'm at www.tomscott.com
Twitter: / tomscott
Instagram: / tomscottgo
Facebook: / tomscott
Series Producer: Cambria Bailey-Jones
Assistant Producer: Sophie Newton
Editor: Pierre Blanc
Game graphics: William Marler wmad.co.uk
Sound Operator: Tom Bartlett
Executive Producer: Guy Larsen
A Pad 26 / Penny4 Production www.penny4.co.uk
Featuring:
Liv Boeree
Rohin Frances
Mark Goodliffe
Special thanks to Darren and the Albert Arms in Elephant and Castle.
00:00 Intro
00:25 Game Explanation
00:58 Game

[@TomScottGo]

The title's not ironic, this is just a game of Skull in a pub. Go check out everyone's channels, too! (I know we played a bit fast-and-loose with some of the rules, too: we didn't always start with the right player, and Rohin should have been able to pick which card he threw away. It's just a game!)

[@mrchocolatebean8878]

will it be extreme in the future?

[@geojoco8434]

2 hours ago ok

[@zelo101]

hi

[@the10ofdiamondscard]

@@geojoco8434 and

[@jparchive296]

spot reserved

[@jocax188723]

Alt title: Tom indulges his game show hosting addiction again

[@Stephen-Fox]

Which is always a treat.

[@Imthefake]

i highly encourage his addiction then

[@Seviexe]

Thats one proper addiction to have and we're not evil for enabling it

[@PaulSpeed42]

And we are all better off for it.

[@diegoparga9324]

I’m onboard

[@floobdedoop2892]

I strongly suspect this game was invented by bored bar staff using disposable coasters.

[@iamyoursaviour]

It's historically popular with bikers, and it's definitely played with coasters where 1/4 are marked.

[@Colopty]

Though it can also be played with cards if you don't have matching coasters. Use number cards as unmarked coasters, face cards as marked coasters.

[@lagautmd]

Did in fact originate as a bar/pub game. You are essentially buying the gorgeous artwork in the boxed set.

[@Atlessa]

@@Colopty I thought about calling it Jacka**, and have the Jack be the "skull".

[@lucarvee]

@@Atlessa op what are the astrics

[@SireDevathrius]

Ah yes, the legendary 0 thousand prize, marvelous

[@Jupiterninja95]

working that algorithm

[@liamblack3001]

@@Jupiterninja95 TRUE!

[@Seviexe]

Well it does somehow sound more expensive than just 0

[@psiphiorg]

For the championship where they bring back the previous winners, I bet they will up the prize to 00 thousand!

[@danatronics9039]

Not just zero thousand, zero thousand, zero hundred, and zeroty-zero dollars!

[@567secret]

Can we take the time to appreciate that they matched their card colours with their shirt colours?

[@recklessroges]

I noticed the "Will it soft-serve" t-shirt.

[@flurgerbla7609]

whoaaaah

[@tomrogue13]

@@recklessroges I saw that too!

[@607]

@@recklessroges I did not!

[@Taranis79]

@@recklessroges I wonder what shirt the good doctor has underneath it

[@MrxstGrssmnstMttckstPhlNelThot]

"I am 100% convinced every single one of you had a skull on there! But for the audience can you show the cameras?" Not a single skull was on the table.

[@Gruncival]

It's fun to see that Tom Scott is the quintessential paranoid player, every group has at least one of those.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

@@Gruncival He's been betrayed before.

[@lucarr1041]

and later... "At least one of those is a skull"

[@DylanSwayneHughes]

They all bidded that round so none of them could have had a skull or theyd be risking losing if noone else bids

[@lukereed6405]

@@DylanSwayneHughes A big part of the game is bluffing by bidding even when you have a skull down. Multiple times during this game someone bid even when they had a skull down.

[@furonguy42]

Its interesting to examine the different ways everyone plays a card down. Liv has them face-down on the table and simply places a chosen card on the mat, Tom holds his cards in a fan and deliberately takes a moment to choose and even when playing a "safe" flower card, picks from the middle of the fan to keep things in-question, Mark casually slides a card out from the bottom of his pile like its nothing and Rohin hides his cards behind the table in an attempt to appear mysterious at the cost of actually paying attention to what he's putting down.

[@dig8634]

I think Mark is also deliberately not stacking his cards neatly. They seem to always be askew and it was driving me nuts XD

[@hamoiq908]

Also the styles in the way they all pass or bid

[@chamelius]

Future Note to All: Tom is susceptible to the `Increment-by-one` fallacy.

[@Tomwithnonumbers]

What's the increment-by-one fallacy?

[@simonjohnston3100]

I'm guessing increase the bid by one where increasing by more is valid and strategically better

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

fallacy++;

[@IceMetalPunk]

@@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721 ++fallacy, for optimization reasons on embedded electronics 😀

[@ionic7777]

@@IceMetalPunk nah, might as well go for the causal fallacy = fallacy + 1;

[@kolmis11]

This game with Technical Difficulties crew would be something to behold.

[@laerin7931]

Brannan would play skull every round and try to bait Tom into bidding.

[@mukrifachri]

They'd just continuously conspire to make Tom lose

[@davidelliott1293]

I approve this message

[@cosmicjenny4508]

@@laerin7931 That is such a Gary Brannan thing to do - messing with Tom.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Everything with the TechDiff crew would be something to behold.

[@finchhawthorne1302]

Surprised no one played more chaotically. Though I do love Tom being very cautious and paranoid.

[@chamelius]

`Two of these People are Lying`: Still leaving its lasting mark. Good Innings.

[@TheDarrellimpey]

And so frequently wrong. :)

[@NStripleseven]

“Every one of you has put down a skull”

[@cityuser]

This *is* the non-extreme version..!

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

@@cityuser And extremely normal.

[@miriamtong]

Tom is like the main character (or villain) who monologues all his thoughts

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Tom is the main villain of KZbin.

[@maxximumb]

I wonder what it would be like if each player explained their thought process (post game) and Tom edited in their thoughts as a voice over narration, like Tom's stream of strategic narrative. The other players were much more shrewd and I missed their insights.

[@yoymate6316]

tom scott would make a great mad scientist

[@twistedtachyon5877]

As someone who plays games like Tom, I appreciate this implication of narrative centrality. 😄

[@JordanSugarman]

No poker face at all.

[@scythero1055]

I enjoy the fact that the colours of their cards match the colours of their shirts. Things like that make me happy.

[@deepikamsolanki]

yup! it's the little details, though i don't think Tom did this on purpose?

[@Victoria-hp6sf]

are they really wearing brown and purple shirts? i can only perceive them as white

[@kanchanchaudhary1973]

timegear pfp :0

[@wbfaulk]

I love Liv blocking her eyes to prevent herself from seeing … her own cards? (5:00)

[@leonardjulius6098]

Hahahahaha good catch

[@alexharrison2743]

That's so funny and oddly wholesome???

[@Freedavies]

I also love games that are worth zero thousand zero hundred and zeroty zero dollars.

[@joshuasims5421]

No thousand no hundred and nonety none.

[@shaheenbekk]

i love the phrase "zeroty zero"

[@euansmith3699]

It is the $64,000 x 0 Question!

[@Anonymous-df8it]

Naught thousand naught hundred naughty naught

[@nognog3333]

If I had a cent for every video about people playing skull I watched that ended with Someone betting that every card on the table was a flower and winning, I'd have two cents, which isn't a lot, but its weird that it happened twice

[@crazycocopuff100]

Ah, a fellow overboard fan

[@bendubz9000]

related - Tom Scott on Overboard would be incredible

[@nognog3333]

@@bendubz9000 oh my god yes

[@zyaicob]

wElCoMeToOvErBoArDpoLyGoNsBoArDaNdCaRdGaMeShOw

[@giualonso]

HAHAHA those two very different tables ending the same way is very fun!

[@lewismassie]

The 3D camera makes for a much simpler recording setup than the Citation Needed 'Gopro Tree' days

[@neuvilpanindra2581]

I think that's a 360° camera tho but yes

[@SullySideUp]

The GoPro Tree was iconic tho, worth the hassle imo

[@JJRicks]

@@neuvilpanindra2581 GoPro Max, to be specific

[@dizzypro4974]

I always thought it was nice to see some modern art in the middle of the table in wide shots

[@chriskeene]

it was confusing me as it looks just like a normal camera pointing in one direction, I can't work out how it got all of them

[@bruzie900]

Having only just gotten into CtC I was pleasantly surprised to see Mark here. Also note that Rohin is wearing a "Will it Soft-Serve?" shirt.

[@husseingusslia2353]

YES, it is!

[@marshm3llow467]

I thought I recognised Mark at the start, but I'm super faceblind so I didn't realise until Tom said from Cracking the Cryptic that I realised who it was! I love their channel so much, what a cool crossover moment. Exciting game, although it took me a bit to understand the logic behind it.

[@Stephen-Fox]

A lot of liar clues in this one.

[@bullymaguire6388]

@@Stephen-Fox wait what?

[@Stephen-Fox]

@@bullymaguire6388 A small joke. Mark solves sudoku on his channel, sometimes sudoku will have 'liar clues' - clues that are false (usually in a very specific way defined by the rules of the sudoku), skull is a game involving bluffing - aka lying. Ergo 'a lot of liar clues in this one'

[@johningham1880]

Liv may be the poker champ, but Rohin is a CARDiologist

[@stichyface]

I like this channel. Seeing Tom Scott just messing around with friends is fun. Like game garage.

[@StormCrow42]

As a slight rules clarification, generally if you skull yourself you get to choose what card/disc you lose rather than it needing to be random.

[@j.b.dandrea3467]

Agreed. I've always seen it played this way

[@munjee2]

That makes bluffing a bit too easy, if you're only losing a safe card

[@lukereed6405]

The rules state that it is random always. However, I've always played with the house rule that you always choose which card you lose regardless of whose skull gets you out.

[@NoChance18]

@@lukereed6405 Nope, the rules for this version (and others I've played) specifically say that if you flip your own skull, you choose the card you lose. It's a rule to encourage bluffing on skulls late game, because otherwise it's too risky.

[@computermaster124816]

Strictly, the rule is whoever's skull was hit picks the card; if it's your skull, you know which one is which.

[@camcdragon]

I love Tom playing games I've never heard of Now I have playing this and that ancient Sumerian board game on my bucket list

[@chrishill601]

It's actually super easy to make a simple board for the Royal Game of Ur with just a pen and some pater, plus some markers, and a few dice. I think I used some d4s I had, and just did evens as zero, and odds as 1, but you could do the same with standard d6s if that's all you have.

[@Septimus_ii]

And bar billiards?

[@camcdragon]

@@chrishill601 i haven't thought of that tbh, but i would need a friend to play it with

[@camcdragon]

@@Septimus_ii right, i forgot about that one it's been years since i've last seen that vid

[@MadsOcto7]

Skull is also easily made with a deck of normal playing cards. Numbers are flowers, pictures are skulls.

[@EpicGamer-yu9qn]

I have no clue what they're doing to win, but I'm enjoying it

[@segmentsAndCurves]

Good relaxing material.

[@scragar]

You win the round if you're the highest bid and you're able to turn over that number of cards without finding a skull. You win the game if you win 2 rounds(don't have to be consecutive) You are out of the game if you ever get down to 0 cards by making bad bids. The game is about predicting what your opponents have down to see if you can figure out if it's safe to bid or not.

[@EpicGamer-yu9qn]

@@scragarohh, that's what I was thinking but still wasn't too sure

[@evbunke2]

@@scragar ahh thank you. I didn't understand what the significance of flipping the little mat over was

[@Pacvalham]

@@scragar If I won a round, then lost a card later, do I still have that point and I would win the game on the next round I win?

[@MelodicaDude]

"This is the techni-skull difficulties and today we're playing cerebellum needed"

[@nuancedhumour]

Cranium needed?

[@ryaneakins7269]

I'm just here for the reveal that Tom's the one flying aircraft past Simon's window on Cracking the Cryptic.

[@shye229]

him and jay foreman 😆

[@blufferfish0896]

this is clever, the key word “extreme” and the four digit number (although admittedly being still zero) helps the algorithm, whilst it’s still not being untruthful

[@simonscarle]

Seeing as Wil Wheaton isn't doing Tabletop anymore the one person I would trust to do the "demo a Tabletop game with my mates" format is Tom Scott. More please!

[@ollieelastname674]

Have you ever heard of Polygon? If not, they have a wonderful card and board game show called Overboard that really got me through quarantine.

[@DevilboyScooby]

I do love how Tom tried to provide running commentary while the other three were mostly poker-faced and quiet 😂

[@g-de]

Skull is a great game and that was a fantastic win! Might have been good to have the outro be your reaction when viewing the footage of what people had put down.

[@thedj9553]

I loved these back in the day, stuff like Let's Play and the Game Garage, happy to see that this type of video made a comeback!

[@rufioh]

I never thought I’d see mark in a video with Tom Scott. Love it

[@baguettegott3409]

Finally! The video of the Polygon crew playing Skull with [spoiler]'s dramatic win is one of my favourites on all of youtube. Totally down for more Skull content :D

[@oliviapg]

Both the videos with Brennan are gold, their games of both Coup and Skull are fantastic (Anomia is decent too)

[@mollymauktealeaf]

@@oliviapg Brennan in general is gold tbh

[@GermaphobeMusic]

Can we appreciate that this 16 minute video has human-made subtitles

[@chessmiller5661]

Tom Scott makes a point of this! I really appreciate it. He's of the opinion that if you have the money to, you really freaking ought to do it because it's not that expensive, there's a large population that needs or is vastly helped by it, and so much content just doesn't doesn't do it.

[@AA_21861]

How does Rohin get the time to be doctor, KZbin doctor and guest star as Skull doctor all in one go? Quite a bit of awe at his time management skills there.

[@richardpomelear7462]

Everytime I've seen this played, someone skulls themself. Don't feel bad, Liv. Edit: and Rohin.

[@Wecoc1]

This gets way more intense than I was anticipating

[@oliverlane9716]

Really enjoyed this, but if you will do this again could you have an on screen graphic to help us keep track of who has how many cards and how many are on the table etc.

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Tom would have to hire Mudan to edit like that... and the chance of that happening is less than the prize of this game.

[@mytube001]

Yes, a top-down view of the table would be nice as well.

[@flamingfossa]

Actually in general any games played on this channel should give more information, the different camera angles were cool though!

[@anonymousperson2327]

i assume next time they do this it will be with a different game but whatever game they play a screen graphic would be nice

[@BillyBraga]

I think the goal of the second channel is less expensive content...

[@ashleybyrd2015]

$0,000? That's kid money, I play for 100x that much.

[@MrBigStuff]

Feel like this would’ve been better if they did it on a glass table, with a camera underneath for the audience

[@Areuuseless]

bumping for another round!

[@dig8634]

They would have to specifically show their cards through the table or it wouldn't work, since they stack the cards on top of each other, and they are obviously not see through

[@rocketfallen]

Skull's one of my favourite games, bluffing at its purest, its the part of poker that everyone likes without having to deal with the part of poker that people hate. I'd be okay if you just used this channel as an excuse to play more games like this with people. Its like Money, but not!

[@caenir]

The thing I like about poker is the chance to get really high value draws. I also find a full house to be quite satisfying (don't know why)

[@mibadada]

People like bluffing? Couldnt be me

[@Brent-jj6qi]

It’s like poker if there was skill involved aside bluffing

[@Brent-jj6qi]

@KZbin Account Unless you play some odd kind of poker, theres just bluffing and changing your bet, you cant change what cards you have or are on the table, which could mean you always lose

[@BlueCanary7]

Always intrigued by games like this: so incredibly simple, and yet SO much strategy involved!

[@ethan-loves]

Aw, that was great fun! Thanks Liv, Mark, Rohin, and Tom

[@GMPranav]

6:22 It's so cool to see Tom laughing out loud like this, it's such a rare sight.

[@swarnamoti]

Is that a 'will it soft serve' merch Rohins wearing ?

[@nuancedhumour]

It is! Well spotted!

[@swarnamoti]

@@nuancedhumour nice to see it

[@husseingusslia2353]

Surprisingly few people spotted that

[@swarnamoti]

@@husseingusslia2353 true

[@johnchessant3012]

yay Cracking the Cryptic!! Also who remembers the Bar Billiards episode? That was awesome

[@berndbeispielmensch]

Thank you for showing us the cards after each round. I find it funny that they covered their eyes even when they were showing their own cards to the camera.

[@SuperZeve]

This is what I like to see here. Just friends hanging out doing everything from flying planes to playing cards. All for a bit of fun.

[@metrovick5417]

Can we start a fundraiser to send the Technical Difficulties on a space trip in a Dragon? I want to see zero G Citation Needed.

[@TheExalaber]

They already have a Zero-G special

[@metrovick5417]

Was that at the indoor skydiving place, or did they all do a vomit comet trip?

[@joshuahadams]

@@metrovick5417 one of the older audio reverse trivia shows was titled “The Zero-G special” and was full of jokes about things in space.

[@williswcy]

We need to have them on air.

[@ragnkja]

@@williswcy We’ve had that (it was the hovercraft bonus video), but we still haven’t had On Ice (and fortunately not Covered In Bees either) yet.

[@enjiniakimiko1305]

That plot twist for Rohin hahahaha, what a solid redemption arc I swear 🤣

[@mytube001]

I would like to see a version of this where all cards have the same backs, and where a player who takes a card from another, is then able to use it and so have a larger deck to choose from each round.

[@stacey738]

This! This is how I thought it worked until I realized the colours messed it up.

[@rmsgrey]

That would be interesting, but it would produce significantly longer games - as things stand, you can't go beyond five rounds per player (and rounds must keep getting shorter), but if players kept the cards they took, you could potentially go for ever with two players passing a single flower back and forth

[@luelou8464]

You could just use regular French playing cards, with number cards for the flower cards, and an ace for the skull.

[@Swisswavey]

Use any normal deck and pick a number to be the skull

[@kellyalvarado6533]

@@Swisswavey Yep. As a kid we played this and called it "aces or faces" - essentially same game with ace = skull, face cards = flowers

[@artlover282]

this takes me back to the good old days in Toms Mates Kitchen playing silly games. I really enjoyed this haha

[@Stephen-Fox]

I forgot how much I'd missed Tom Scott videos filmed with a camera (or set of cameras) in the middle of a table surrounded by people, and at least one camera shooting other perspectives.

[@catfish552]

Good shirt choice there by Mr Francis.

[@joelstevens6394]

I love how they're all colour coded with their cards!

[@PhakesL]

I've always love this type of video! I miss technical difficulty already.

[@LunizIsGlacey]

This is a group of people which wouldn’t be my first thought to play a game together, but it was more entertaining than I imagined it would be! Need a part 2!

[@revelationofapencil]

I really love seeing all the different ways you use the 360 camera, its so perfect for getting right in on these table games you do.

[@flurgerbla7609]

i thoroughly enjoyed this. You can definitely tell that Tom is comfortable with the format from the technical difficulties, but im also looking forward to seeing the more experimental videos coming up!

[@lizzzylavender]

I’d love to see more stuff like this on the channel. I love watching people play board games

[@fonso_s]

Love the fact that tom is wearing red and his cards are red, the blue is blue, the white-yellowish (yellowish because of the light in her right) is yellow and the shirt looks, that looks a bit purple, has the purple cards.

[@vedaryan334]

This is so simple yet so fun . I never knew something like this existed. Thanks!

[@MarekLumi]

Yesss, I missed "game shows" so much on the main channel

[@adivp7]

Rohin had the winner's posture/camera composition from the start

[@nickp5744]

This is a wonderful idea. Love and props to you all. Long may these videos continue!

[@pickleridge5656]

this is the most tense 0 stakes game i've ever seen

[@paerrin]

Tom putting 4 zeroes with a comma for the prize is such a “Tom Scott” move.

[@edr0p688]

God I love this channel already

[@insayno9959]

I love unexpected collabs between some of my favourite youtubers. Good to see Mark here

[@prashantchauhan6990]

absolutely loved it!! will be waiting for more videos like this...

[@namename8004]

What an amazingly simple game. I had never heard of Skull before. I have more than a few questions about some nuances of the rules, but I really want to give it a try. I've played a LOT of tabletop games with varying complexity. So to find a game that I've never heard of which has both depth and simplicity is thrilling.

[@Roby1Kenobi]

Happy to see the return of Tom getting a group together to play a fun game

[@faithmacdonald2292]

Been binging medlife crisis, just yesterday! So fun to see all these guests and will definitely check out their channels. Tom has great taste in collabs!

[@weskerend507]

Loved the videos so far, waiting for the next surprises.

[@kickthesky]

Skull is one of our family's favorite games to play! Great video!

[@Soliloquy084]

I've been watching old videos of Wil Wheaton's TableTop the last couple of weeks, so I'm hoping this continues into a series.

[@WestIsOnFire]

i love these on your OG channel, be great to see this regular here (introducing us to other games ofc)

[@sid28]

Please do more of these board/card game videos, they are strangely entertaining.

[@nat2r]

Liv! Such a great guest. Great to see Mark on too.

[@twotothehalf3725]

I actually went "Ohhhh!" at the end there; what a play.

[@yolgiebear]

I like this format! I'd love to see more of it...

[@LoueeD]

Love these videos Tom

[@JT29501]

This is great content Tom (I'm already a big fan of you, Liv and Rohin!), and honestly the sort of thing many youtubers might offer on their premium pay to watch type offering. That you are making this sort of thing available for free is really fantastic, thanks! Also, I really appreciate how your videos are always impeccably subtitled, it's a small thing but really helpful. Thanks! Little edit: Also Rohin massively undersold himself at the end there, he's a witty, nuanced and knowledgeable communicator of science and how to think about science, with some shitposting mixed in..

[@CelestialVeggie]

I don't think I've ever heard of Skull, but I really like it. Thanks for introducing it to all of us!

[@0xTJ]

I'd love to see more videos like this!

[@mmaaddss]

This is a really nice video, love this concept

[@rupert7565]

All the players were incredibly in sync with when putting down skulls.

[@Hex...]

What a fantastic final play!

[@andrewholaway4113]

Given how long it's been since Tabletop has been off the air, this REALLY struck me today. I love that you're making these videos and I hope that you do more games like this!

[@Kittensfists]

More game playthroughs please! Absolute blast watching you guys play this. Might I recommend Get Bit! and Coup

[@mtndew314]

Skull looks like the British equivalent of liar's dice and I'm enjoying it.

[@PlayingBoardGames]

Well now I just want to get Tom Scott at our table to play Skull. Those were some good rounds of Skull.

[@brood846]

I like this kind of new content, excited to see more!

[@CyberBeatAustralia]

I'd never heard of this game before, but watched this video yesterday and thought it looked great, less than 24 hours later I have a package at my door with a copy of it, can't wait to give it a go. Cheers Tom for uploading this!

[@JakeFaulkner]

4:58 Liv not looking at her own card 🤣🤣

[@newusernamelol6579]

omg $0,000 is the funniest way to say there's no reward

[@theworldsworstperson]

Wayyyyyyyy more of this kinda stuff! this is a great video and is interesting to see people actively engage in games like this

[@maxmustsleep]

great round and super cool guests!

[@elevown]

I love cracking the cryptic :) Will have to check out the other 2s channels too.

[@dontuserachelslurs]

why is this so intense when no one is even at risk of having their soul sucked out by Daniel J D'Arby?

[@arke4936]

He's probably backstage and this is the practice round

[@DragonWinter36]

Rohin tried to pull a Jotaro and failed

[@AliciaBottsfunny_stuff247]

Pleasantly surprised to see Rohin here, Medlife Crisis is one of my favourite channels. And this was really fun to watch, thanks everyone!

[@viccie211]

I like the new channel very much Tom! Looking forward to future videos :)