The nights are heavy, the sun is fragile. The mountain groans with hunger. The rivers became frozen scars and the trees became harsh flashes of black lightning. Bells chase the wind, and peculiar bearded men appear in the fireplaces, driven away with pies and brandy. Roses, oddly enough, are blooming.
Put on your slippers. Light the coals. Pull up your chair. It's time to remember. It's time to upgrade. It's time to give in to your growing addiction. It's time…to play Scale.
If you have already played Skill with us, there is no need for further words – here is the link to browser version. If you haven't played Skill yet, further words will only spoil the matter. Come on, it's free.
Playing Skeal has been a winter RPS tradition since the days of Alice O. announced this in 2017. After Alice O returned to sea in 2024, there are rumors that she may indeed now live in the graying tower – Graham took the torch. Now Graham is gone and I am carrying on the tradition in his place. Am I making you sad? Great – this is the right mood for playing Skill. But it's a good sadness, a liberating sadness, a sadness… of truly terrible puns.
“Skill” is a kind of lesson in how you can turn a slight cringe into a tearful laugh by stretching out the climax and committing yourself wholeheartedly to it. This shouldn't make me cry, but it does. I'm going to ask my sister's partner to play it this holiday. He's about the same age as me and I'm pretty sure this will make him cry too.
Then I'll show this to my nephew, who will look at me like I just offered to feed him a bowl of toothpaste. The main thing is to have emotions. I hope Skill will evoke emotions in you too.
Once again with feeling: Skeal is the work of Nick Cummings, who also makes games about laundry separation, hermit crabs and rachonomics. Saint Nick, we should call him. Happy December everyone.
