Last Round Strategy Guide — Win Every Round

Bidding accurately is the entire game. Here's how to think about your hand, your opponents, and the special cards in Last Round, the free online Skull King alternative.

Bid Like a Pro

Count your guaranteed wins first: Captain, Siren, every Black trump above what's likely already played. Then count your guaranteed losses: low non-trump cards in suits you can dump. The middle is where you'll bid. When in doubt, bid one less than your gut — over-bidding is more punishing than under-bidding when you can drop a Pass flag.

Use the Captain Carefully

The Captain wins almost any trick — but if you play it on a small trick, you've spent your nuke. Save it for a trick where you've already counted Sailors against you. And remember the Siren can capture it for +50 to the opponent.

Bid Zero When You Can

A successful zero bid scores round number x 10 — huge in late rounds. If your hand is all low cards in suits where opponents have trumps, you can probably hit zero. Hold a Pass flag for any trick where dumping is risky.

Read Your Opponents

If two opponents over-bid, every trick you take helps. If everyone under-bid, fight for zero tricks even if you bid one. The bid totals (overbid vs underbid) decide your strategy each round.