Creating a game costs 1 token. That holds whether you’re up against other people, bots, or a mix. Joining a game someone else created is free.
Tokens come from:
- +10 when you create an account.
- +10 when you verify your email.
- Top-up request. When you’re low, top up by 10 (up to 20), once a day. After your first top-up you need a verified email to request again. Verifying also raises your cap to 30.
Guest accounts accrue tokens too. They’re held for you and transferred when you create an account.
Skew is a different kind of arcade. Every game rewards the same thing. You score by picking what the crowd does not.
Pick what most people pick, and you score a little. Pick something few others choose, and you score a lot.
The games look different. Some use numbers. Some use maps. Some use boards. But the goal is always the same. Guess what other people will pick, then pick something else.
There is no single right answer. There is only the choice that not many people make.
The idea. 16 cards (labelled 0 to 15) each have a draw weight. Bigger label = lower weight = rarer card. The game plays out many quick draws, dealing cards one at a time by weight. You score for matching drawn cards before others. You score more when other players didn’t pick the same cards you did.
Game setup
- Cards to pick (3, 4, or 5): how many cards each player picks for the round.
- Cards to win (the “threshold”, 2 to 4, never more than cards-to-pick): how many of your picks have to come up before the round ends. Lower = faster + more luck. Higher = strategic-pick weight matters more.
- Max lottery number shapes the 16-number palette: a lower max (e.g. 7) keeps the numbers close together (near-even draw odds); a higher max (e.g. 20) makes the top number dominate, with a steep tail of rarely-drawn numbers. Default is 12.
- Ghost picks are automatic. You always get cards-to-pick + 2 of them (so picking 3 gives you 5 ghosts). They don’t count toward winning but tag a card as “you predicted this would be drawn,” affecting your bonus score, not your win condition.
During the round
- Tap a card to add it to your scoring picks (red).
- If ghost picks are on, switch to ghost mode and tap to add ghost picks (blue).
- Tap an already-picked card to remove it. A card can’t be both a scoring pick and a ghost.
- Submit when you’ve filled both lists.
How scoring works
- Each draw deals cards one at a time, weighted. The first players to reach the threshold “win” that draw. The game runs many draws and averages the result.
- If multiple players are tied at the threshold in a draw, the win is split.
- Your score = how often you win, scaled by how few other players picked the same triggering cards. Picking what no-one else picked is the highest-value strategy.
- Ghost picks add a small predictor bonus. You get credit for foreseeing draws even on cards you didn’t pick to win on.
- The player with the unique top score wins the round. A tie for first means no outright winner.
Playing with bots
Bots are set on the create screen, in the Players section. Pick Specified number of players and any seats people don’t fill become bots when the game scores. Or pick Open join and set how many bots to add (default 0). Either way, bots count as players for scoring and use a mix of strategies (uniform, weighted, past-winners). Want to play right now without waiting for people? Don’t share the join code and you’ll be up against bots only.
The idea. Players place dots on a shape. Each dot claims the territory closest to it. You score for the area you claim, and you score more when your dot is far from anybody else’s.
Game setup
- Map shape: the playable area. Some are a single island, some have two or more disconnected regions. Picks must land inside the coloured area.
- Dots per player (1 to 6): how many dots each player places. Fewer dots = each one matters more. More dots = trade-offs between coverage and clumping.
During the round
- Tap inside the coloured region to place a dot. Tap an existing dot to remove it.
- You see only your own dots while picking. Other players’ dots reveal at scoring time.
- Dots in the white/background region aren’t allowed.
- Submit when you’ve placed your full set.
How scoring works
- Every point of the map is assigned to the nearest dot. That’s the dot’s “cell”.
- Your area = total cell area you own.
- Your largest contiguity = the size of your biggest connected blob of cells. Fragmented territory is worth less. The difference between area and contiguity shows up as “points lost / discontiguity.”
- Any part of the map that isn’t closest to any dot (almost never happens) shows as “unclaimed space.”
- The unique top scorer wins the round. A tie for first means no outright winner.
Playing with bots
Bots are set on the create screen, in the Players section. Pick Specified number of players and any seats people don’t fill become bots when the game scores. Or pick Open join and set how many bots to add (default 0). Bots count as players for scoring and place dots strategically (a mix of uniform-random and max-min-distance spread). Don’t share the join code to play only against bots.
The idea. The board is 3×3 (fixed). After everyone joins, each player builds their board by tapping 9 numbers from a shared palette of 16. Each number’s value is its draw weight. Bigger numbers are drawn more often (so a bingo built with them splits more ways). The game draws numbers and counts your “bingos” (any complete row, column, or diagonal). You score for forming bingos, more if other players didn’t use the same numbers as you.
Game setup
- Max number shapes the 16-number palette: a lower max (e.g. 7) keeps the numbers close together (near-uniform draw odds); a higher max (e.g. 20) makes the top number dominate, with a steep tail of rarely-drawn numbers. Default is 12.
- You also set the deadline and your Players setup (fix the roster, or open join and add bots).
During the round
- Tap an empty slot to select it (highlighted).
- Tap a number chip in the palette to fill the selected slot. The board auto-advances to the next empty slot.
- Tap a filled slot to clear it.
- You can’t use the same number twice. Used numbers grey out in the palette.
- Submit when all 9 slots are filled.
How scoring works
- The game draws numbers one at a time, weighted by value.
- A bingo is any complete row, column, or diagonal (8 possible lines per board).
- Your score = how many bingos you make on average across many draws, scaled down when other players also chose the numbers that led to your bingo. Picking what others didn’t is worth more.
- Strategic trade-off: bigger numbers form bingos faster but are popular, so their bingos split many ways. Smaller numbers form bingos rarely but the wins are yours alone.
- The unique top scorer wins the round. A tie for first means no outright winner.
Playing with bots
Bots are set on the create screen, in the Players section. Pick Specified number of players and any seats people don’t fill become bots when the game scores. Or pick Open join and set how many bots to add (default 0). Bots count as players for scoring and build boards with various strategies (uniform-random pick, weighted-pick, centre-biased placement). Don’t share the join code to play only against bots.
The idea. The board is a web of dots joined by links. Each player picks a few dots. Every dot you pick sends points along its links to the dots it connects to. You score for the points that pile up on the dots you picked, and you score more when other players didn’t pile points onto the same dots.
Game setup
- Board size: how many dots are on the board. A bigger board leaves more room to pick dots nobody else does.
- Board shape: how the dots are wired together. Each shape lays out the links differently. Some are evenly spread, some clump into clusters joined by bridges. Try them to see which you like.
- Dots to pick: how many dots each player gets. Pick close to the whole board and everyone’s picks overlap. Pick a few and you can spread out and stake your own ground.
During the round
- Tap a dot to pick it. Tap an already-picked dot to clear it.
- The number on each dot is how many links it has. More links means it can send and receive more points.
- Submit once you’ve picked your full set of dots.
How scoring works
- Every dot you pick sends points along its links to the dots it connects to.
- Add up the points that land on each dot. Your score = the points that landed on the dots YOU picked.
- When several players sent points to the same dot, each player’s share is scaled down. Points on a dot only you went for are worth the most.
- The trade-off: a well-connected dot collects lots of points, but it’s an obvious pick that everyone piles onto. A dot with few links collects less, but the points are yours alone.
- The unique top scorer wins the round. A tie for first means no outright winner.
Playing with bots
Bots are set on the create screen, in the Players section. Pick Specified number of players and any seats people don’t fill become bots when the game scores. Or pick Open join and set how many bots to add (default 0). Bots count as players for scoring and pick dots with a mix of strategies. Don’t share the join code to play only against bots.
The idea. Each player aims a jet across a square field that wraps at every edge (fly off the right, reappear on the left). When the round scores, all jets launch at once and fly straight, each leaving a trail. A stream keeps going until its head meets any trail, another player’s or its own. The player with the highest score wins. The win comes from aiming through empty space nobody else contested.
Game setup
- Jets per player (1 to 4, default 2): more jets puts more walls in everyone’s way.
During the round
- Tap inside the field to move your jet’s starting point.
- Drag the aim ring to rotate the heading. The
HDGreadout shows your compass bearing. - The dashed line previews where your stream would fly if nothing blocked it, wrapping at the edges. It’s a preview only. You can’t see other players’ jets while you aim.
- Got more than one jet? Tap Switch to next jet to choose which jet you’re flying. Moving and aiming both apply to the active jet.
- Submit when your jet (or jets) are aimed.
How scoring works
- All streams grow at the same time, one small step each, so who blocks whom is fair and order-independent.
- Your length is reported in field-widths.
1.6means your stream covered 1.6 field-widths before it met a trail. - Your score is half your longest stream plus half your total distance. That’s the same thing if you fly one jet. Highest score wins.
Playing with bots
Bots are set on the create screen, in the Players section. Pick Specified number of players and any seats people don’t fill become bots when the game scores. Or pick Open join and set how many bots to add (default 0). Bots count as players for scoring and aim their jets with a mix of strategies. Don’t share the join code to play only against bots.
Arcade
Add a game to your pack
Pick a cabinet, set it up, and it drops back into your pack.
Open join lets anyone with the code join, and you can add a set number of bots.
Open join lets anyone with the code join, and you can add a set number of bots.
Open join lets anyone with the code join, and you can add a set number of bots.
Open join lets anyone with the code join, and you can add a set number of bots.
Open join lets anyone with the code join, and you can add a set number of bots.
Privacy Policy
skew.games is a free multiplayer arcade. We try to collect as little about you as we can while still running the games. This page explains what we do collect, why, and how to reach us. It is our own policy for our own site. There is no charge to play and nothing here is for sale.
What we collect
- A display name. The name you play under (you can pick one or get an auto-assigned one). Other players see it in games you share with them.
- Your gameplay. The picks you make, the games you join, and your scores. This is the substance of the games and how results are shown.
- A session token. When you start playing we store a random token in your browser's local storage so the site remembers you between visits. It is not an advertising identifier and we do not share it. (Site admins also get a sign-in cookie; that is only for the small set of people who run the arcade.)
- An email address (only if you choose to verify one). Verifying an email is optional. If you do, we send a one-time code to confirm it (through a third-party email service) and store the address so the account is recoverable and eligible for more play tokens. We do not send marketing email.
- Usage information. We record basic events about how the site is used (which screens load, rough performance) in an analytics store so we can fix problems and improve the games. These are tied to a random identifier.
- Messages you send us. If you use the contact form, we keep your message (and a reply email, if you add one) along with basic technical details about the request (like your browser and IP address) so we can understand the context, respond if needed, and improve the games.
What we don't do
We don't sell your data. We don't share it with advertisers, and there are no third-party ad or tracking networks on the site. We only use outside services to make the product work (for example, a third-party email service to send a verification code if you ask for one). If we ever turn on error monitoring to catch crashes, it is configured to strip out personal details (email, name, IP) before anything is recorded.
How long we keep it
The games and their results are kept as part of the arcade's record. Gameplay data isn't deleted, because past rounds are what the game's opponents and statistics are built from. If you'd like your account anonymised or your email removed, use our contact form (below) and we'll take care of the personal parts while keeping the gameplay record itself de-identified.
Contact
Questions, or want your information removed? .
Terms of Use
Thanks for playing. These are the ground rules for using skew.games. By playing, you agree to them. They're meant to be short and readable.
The arcade is free, and provided as-is
skew.games is free to play. We offer it as-is, without warranties, and we can't promise it will always be available or bug-free. We do our best, but you use it at your own discretion.
Be civil
Play fair and treat other people well. Don't harass or abuse other players, don't impersonate someone else, and don't pick display names meant to deceive or offend. We may remove a display name or an account that breaks these rules or disrupts the games for others.
About tokens
Games are played with tokens. Tokens are free play-credit: you get them by creating an account, verifying your email, or requesting tokens. They have no cash value, can't be bought, and can't be cashed out or redeemed for money or prizes. They're just a way to keep the games flowing. If you run out of them, have a friend be the one to create a game to invite you to.
Changes & contact
We may update these terms as the arcade grows; the date at the top shows the latest version. Questions? .