Thunderworks Games - Emerald Skulls | Dice Game with Real-time Betting | Push Your Luck Strategy Board Game | Fast Action Casino-style Group Play | Family Game for 1-6 Players, Ages 14+, 30-45 Minutes

This is a fun push-your-luck game with a very cool theme in the Roll Player world, and as usual from Thunderworks, awesome components. You are essentially rolling dice to try to fulfill various conditions with bigger payouts for harder goals, but the other players can also bet based on what they think you'll do or whether you'll bust. Getting a good payout is fun, but if you're not careful your opponents might get paid more than you. This is a clever system with some fun interaction - players take turns either being the active roller, which comes with some good decisions, or the opponents who are placing bets on how they think the roller will do. You can place bets at any time, but only two total during the round. The longer you wait, the more info you'll have, but earlier bets have better payouts. I played both the multi-player and solo modes a few times each. Overall I like the feel of it and the player interaction is great. The solo more is simple and offers some nice decisions (also a nice way to just get familiar with the rules and the types of bets). The components are fantastic with nice cards, thick cardboard coins, plastic cubes, and really nice dice. I also appreciate that it all packs into a fairly small box. I did not get into the advanced betting cards yet, but glanced through a few and there's plenty of room to grow if your group really gets into this. My only real complaint is that the thematic names of the different bets take a while to get used to. The cards to have descriptions of what they means, and the reminder icons are okay but still a little confusing. I just feel like it takes a few rounds to really start to see at a quick glance what the likely outcomes are and what the various payouts will be. When deciding how to bet, especially since making earlier bets matters, being able to decipher this info quickly is somewhat important. Not a major issue unless you frequently play with new players - if you have a regular group I'm guessing you'll get used to the names fairly quickly. Even with this, there's still plenty to like here and for push-your-luck fans who also want to bet against (or along with) their friends, this is a fun recommendation.

Ordered this for game nights and it’s easy to teach and plays quickly. The real-time betting adds tension and makes it more engaging than typical dice games.

Emerald Skulls is a fun, fast-paced dice game that has a lot of moments of excitement. Once you get the flow of the game down, it goes fairly smoothly. One important thing to note about Emerald Skulls is that its complexity floor is fairly high, at least for your average dice game. This game has several moving pieces that all players are required to know equally in order for a turn to progress, so it might be difficult for a new player to run an example turn. If you are brand new to board games, I would strongly suggest looking up a guide on how to play the game to make sure you didn't miss anything in the process of learning the rules. After everyone's on the same page, the gameplay is exciting. The high amount of variance in play and the temperament of the players involved can lead to a lot of enjoyably tense moments, especially when the tumbler (the rolling player) decides to go all-in on a Mad Nargash or the eponymous Emerald Skull. Overall, this is a creative take on a betting dice game, and one that won't be out of place in your game collection. That's the end of the review of the game. I need to spend some time talking specifically about the rulebook now. Emerald Skulls has a confoundlingly organized rulebook. You wouldn't notice if you just looked up a guide like I mentioned above, but the rulebook seems to go out of its way to make it difficult to learn the game as intended. I suspect that some of the things I will complain about were organized due to space constraints, but this is a review, so I'm not pulling punches. I think it's pretty uncontroversial to say that rulebooks should try and introduce the mechanics in a digestible manner, whether that be via reducing complexity to create a broader understanding more quickly, or by being extremely detailed to eliminate ambiguity. Emerald Skulls manages to find its way halfway between these points, and not for the better. For example, the rules page that explains the Skull Board is an incomplete reference—it only has rules for dice placement. It does nothing to explain the Outs/payouts at the top of the board or the dice purchasing indicators at the bottom of the board. These bits of information are located elsewhere in the rulebook, but this means you can't rule back to a single page for questions on what the board's display means. In an attempt to give players information on a need-to-know basis, additional complexity to understanding the rules is introduced where it isn't necessary. It seems kind of ridiculous to have the betting rules after the dice placement rules when the former happens before the latter in turn order. Both of these rule blocks show up in the rulebook after the turns are explained in detail, instead of during the explanation of the phase in which they are relevant. The pattern of play is the most important thing, but the two groups of players (the tumbler and the gamblers) need to play their portions of the turns very differently. I think that it would have been worth separating these two groups' information in the rules. The player reference cards each player gets do a great job of condensing the turn information, so that helps a lot. I just wish the back side (which references the possible Outs) stated somewhere that the tumbler can only collect one of those payouts. The last thing I'll talk about is the examples. The examples are important, and I appreciate them to help answer some questions about gameplay. The thing I absolutely cannot understand, though, is why they chose to give each color player a name when their color is the most important thing. If Issac is red, then just say the Red Player. There are only three such examples in the entire rulebook, two of which are in the basic rules. They cover so little of the overall gameplay that they're not going to be referenced frequently, and since the colors themselves aren't tied to an in-game named character, that makes it really annoying to read. If I need to pay attention to what red is doing in the picture, then I don't need to know that red's name is Isaac. A few other random notes: -I appreciate there being enough bags included to store everything. -The amount of reroll cubes given is a great way to convey that players should be trying to accumulate and use them. -There are no real catch-up mechanics aside from betting more effectively, but the games are quick enough that that's okay. -Gameplay time doesn't bloat significantly when hosting six players versus three, which is also appreciated.

Good: Nails the aesthetic of gambling dice games and getting in the head of your competition The mechanics and verbs of the game are pretty goblin coded Small set of bets consistent throughout the game keeps decision-making and betting smooth and quick Variety of bet cards provide lots of variety and advanced better options for replayability and depth Great symbology actually explains the whole game on the board and cards once you learn it Components are sturdy, compact, and pack well into the small box with good bags for organizing components Mixed/JFYI: The initial pool of money is clearly meant as a game clock, but buying dice pays back into it, so depending on luck and player behavior, the game length can become pretty unpredictable Highly recommend grabbing a cup to load and shake dice in while taking bets; it really enhances the vibe (and helps you move through turn phases just by how you use the cup

Ok I'm gonna be a downer here, but 1. Hard to learn. The instructions are nearly bonkers level of trying to get your head around it. My partner and I fancy ourselves relatively intelligent people with high reading comprehension skills, but it took us over an hour to really figure out the game, and I don't even think we still were playing it right because 2. It wasn't very entertaining with 2 people. I dunno how to explain why exactly, without trying to explain how to play, and goodness no, thank you, I shall not be taking that on. It's a high quality game physically, it's got lots of very nice art and great play pieces. Love the dice especially. But whew... what a time investment on learning for such a disappointment. I suspect maybe it's more fun with more people but we don't have any friends who will sit still long enough to get the gist of how to play. So, eh. If you're really into tabletop and don't mind really having to dig in, you might like. I'm planning on giving this to a friend who is way more into gaming than I am who will probably enjoy it. For my taste though, I like an easier to get into game especially as party games go. Good value if you're into this kind of thing though I think, again, game pieces are great.

Emerald Skulls is a fast-paced dice game that blends the thrill of poker-style betting with a push-your-luck mechanic. Players roll dice, aiming to collect sets of valuable emeralds while strategically betting on the outcome of their rolls. The looming threat of skull symbols adds an element of risk, as too many can wipe out your hard-earned gems. It's a game of calculated risks, bluffing, and exhilarating uncertainty. Each round, a player rolls a set of dice. They can choose to stop rolling and bank their collected emeralds or push their luck by re-rolling remaining dice to try for more valuable combinations. However, rolling three or more skull symbols in a single turn results in losing all the emeralds accumulated in that round. Before each roll (except the initial one), players engage in real-time betting, wagering on whether the current roller will succeed in improving their hand or ultimately bust. The player with the most emeralds at the end of a set number of rounds wins. As an avid board game enthusiast, I'm always on the lookout for engaging experiences that can be enjoyed both solo and with family. Emerald Skulls has proven to be a delightful discovery on both fronts. The fact that the game scales seamlessly from a solitary challenge against the odds to a lively group experience for up to six players is a significant strength. This versatility has made it a frequent choice for quiet evenings and more boisterous family game nights with my 12-year-old daughter. What truly sets Emerald Skulls apart is its unique blend of strategic dice rolling and the exciting dynamic of real-time betting. The poker-like hand rankings for emerald combinations provide a familiar framework, yet the push-your-luck element introduces a constant sense of anticipation and risk. Each roll is a mini-drama, especially when coupled with the betting phase. My daughter and I have found ourselves laughing and cheering (or groaning!) with each subsequent roll and every placed bet. The speed of the game keeps everyone engaged, and the tension of potentially losing your accumulated emeralds to a bad roll of skulls creates wonderfully funny and exciting moments. Emerald Skulls manages to capture the strategic depth of betting games without the complexity often associated with them. The rules are easy to grasp, making it accessible for a wide range of ages, yet the decisions involved in when to stop rolling and how to bet offer ample strategic nuance. It’s a fantastic way to introduce younger players to concepts of risk assessment and probability in a fun and engaging manner. For anyone seeking a game that delivers fast-paced action, strategic choices, and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, whether playing solo or with a group, Emerald Skulls is a treasure worth discovering. It has quickly become a beloved addition to our game collection, offering a unique and consistently entertaining experience.

This is a competitive betting game where each turn a new player rolls dice and places them on the board. The concept is simple enough. You place all values of a given number on the same row: 1s go on the bottom, 3s on the middle, and there's room at the top for two 4s and a single 5. The rule is that you cannot place dice on a row below one you already placed, so there is a press-your-luck element. After the dice roller chooses to stop rolling or place a die at the very top, they get scored based on where the dice were placed. In between rolls, the other players have two betting tiles to place. They might bet that the dice roller will bust out or will use all their dice without stopping early or even that they fill out all five levels of the board. Some of these bets give the dice roller extra benefits, which entices them to lean more into the bets. For example, players could bet that the dice roller will end with having placed only 1s and 2s. This is a risky bet except that the dice roller gets extra points for placing 1s and 2s, so it's a symbiotic relationship that's also contentious. It's a silly little game, but players take these bets seriously. The downside I have found is that when the points run out, you stop instantly. Many games allow all players to take the same number of turns but not here. We had some runs where the dice roller got 20 points, which is not that likely to get when placing bets, so from the starting player to the ending player, they have one more dice roll than the rest of the group. Maybe this evens out overall through multiple plays, but I can see this being unbalanced. It's such a light-hearted game that it doesn't really matter. The components are of good quality. The betting tiles are colorful wood pieces with symbols to be color-blind friendly. The dice are solid and fair. The cards are durable and easy to read.

I wasn't really sure at first how this game would go over with my play group, but it was a fairly solid success! Basically, there's two different games happening simultaneously- the tumbler (dice roller) is playing a push your luck game, trying to get the highest score outcome for themselves. At the same time, the others players are placing bets on what the ultimate outcome for the tumbler will be. This creates a unqiue synergy between these asymmetrical parts of the gameplay. The gamblers typically want the tumbler to succeed in their rolls, becuase it means their bets will pay out. The tumbler may find themselves choosing to abandon a chance at a higher score becuase it will be overly beneficial for a gambler to win their bet. Despite this, the game itself is fairly casual, becuase it's all tied up in the rolls of the dice. There is strategy to it, but there's no real way to guarantee a victory. You'll end up excited to see a rare outcome regardless of whether or not you score. It requires focus, but not an extreme amount- it's easy to laugh & snack/drink during gameplay. The build quality is solid. Betting tokens are painted wood & provide a good 'clack' when played. Plastics are nice without seams or chemical smells, paper components are thick & sturdy, everything is well printed (although a couple of my betting tokens are slightly off-center.) Setup is fairly quick, with only counting out the correct amount of currency needed for the game taking up time. If I must have a complaint- and it's a minor quibble- while there's enough baggies given to store components, having the betting tokens split 3 to a bag across four bags isn't very convenient. Plus, it takes a bit of fiddling to shake things around to sit flat in the box. I'll be looking for a more convenient way to store the parts. This is an excellent choice for a more casual play group, or a more serious one to pull out between/after more taxing options. I'd recommend this for... well, almost anyone!