
- BGG rank
- BGG #4,015
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Skull Queen
- 2–6 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.7/5
- 2024

2003
Rules assistance for Sluff Off!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 3 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Sluff Off! is a board game released in 2003 for 3–5 players, 30 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Stefan Dorra and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Betting and Bluffing, and Trick-taking.
The gameplay for Sluff Off! follows the standard trick-taking formula: The cards are numbered 1-15 in five different suits, and blue is always trump. If someone leads a color, you must follow suit if you can; otherwise, you can throw off a card or trump the trick. It's an exact-bidding game, but you predict your tricks by taking colored chips. For each trick that you win, you toss a chip back. If you take a trick in a color for which you didn't have a chip, then you must take a black chip (worth -3 points). If you have any colored chips left at the end of the round, they're worth -2 points. If you have any white chips left at the end of the round (wildcards that you get when someone takes a colored chip away from you during bidding), they're worth -4 points. There's also the Sluffer, whose role is to feed unwanted tricks to other players. Instead of bidding tricks the Sluffer takes 4 black chips each worth -1 for him at the end of the hand. When players take tricks they didn't predict, they take black chips from the Sluffer. If the Sluffer feeds enough of the black chips to other players, it can zero out the Sluffer's score for that round.
Sluff Off! supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Sluff Off! is 30 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Sluff Off! for ages 10 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Sluff Off! has a complexity rating of 1.9 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Sluff Off! belongs to these categories: Card Game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Betting and Bluffing, and Trick-taking. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Sluff Off! are: Stefan Dorra. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Sluff Off! as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.