Skulk Hollow first appeared on our radar back in early 2018, several months before the launching of Pencil First Games‘ Kickstarter campaign in October of that year. At that time, we did not have many games that were exclusively two-players so seeing one that was not only designed specifically for that dynamic but also offered asymmetrical tactical gameplay readily caught our attention. Keith Matejka’s design pits two very different forces against one another and it seemed like pure gold as we anticipated taking turns playing as one of the giant guardians rising from the dark forest or the royal troops of the fox clan banding together to protect their home. When the game finally showed up at our door it was only a matter of moments before the box was opened and we began going through the fairly easy-to-read rules. Our first play began with Krista taking on the role of the King of War and his forces and me across from her with the giant stone bear known as Grak.

The art for Skulk Hollow, designed by Dustin Foust, brings to life a setting that lies somewhere between the cartoons and movies we here at The Cardboard Cantina watched as children as well as the video games we had enjoyed from our past. The Never Ending Story had been mixed with Disney’s The Gummy Bears and Shadow of The Colossus to create something new and unlike anything else. The bright colors and styling give Skulk Hollow a life of its own and do a fantastic job of drawing in the players to the world they are helping bring to life. For those with a creative itch and a bit of time on their hands, there is also a collection of free coloring pages available. Almost every time we play this game in a public setting, there is at least one person that sees the box or us moving fox meeples around on the Guardian’s board and asks what we have. The aesthetics do a great job of grabbing people’s attention!

We had taken our seats and chosen our roles as per the suggestions in the rules for playing your first game. The box actually includes four different Guardians and four different fox leaders to choose from, which gives the game variety and keeps it interesting. To set up, players put the map board and Guardian board in the middle of the table, take their faction’s components including cards, markers, and meeples, shuffle their relative action decks, and drew their hands. This is all made a bit easier by the fact that these components are all divided up into appropriate bundles inside card size boxes which are clearly marked with art and text depicting what character/player they go to. Once we had done this, we put our starting forces in their opening positions on the board and we were ready to play.

Players will have several cards in their hand that each depict two possible actions. These actions will vary depending on which side you are playing, as well as which Guardian was chosen if you find yourself facing off against the fox forces. On their turn, players will play cards, choosing one of the two actions, in an attempt to bring about victory. For the foxes, this is always to bring the Guardian to zero health, but the win condition will vary from eliminating enough of the enemy to covering the land in roots depending on which Guardian the other player has chosen to play. It won’t be long before players find themselves in an epic struggle as fox soldiers sling rocks and arrows or leap upon their massive foe attacking specific locations to try eliminating relative actions, such as throw for an arm or stomp from a leg, and ultimately restore serenity to their land. Nobody seems to know why the Guardians have awoken, nor why they appear angered and aggressive.

There is a lot of variety provided in the Skulk Hollow box, and there is even more on the way! Maul Peak is a planned expansion for the game with some of the elements already available to the gaming community via Board Game Geek for early testing. Pencil First Games plans to add several new Guardians, a clan of bears, and possibly more with a Kickstarter at some point in the hopefully near future. It’s not much yet, but we know the company is hard at work with their efforts to expand the universe that is Skulk Hollow. The preview art alone is enough to whet our appetite, and the new content has really been well received here at the cantina. Providing new content to the community as a whole for testing really shows their commitment to creating a connection with their customers and developing a game we are wanting to play through feedback in the creative process. Pencil First Games has also recently released an official version of the game for free on Tabletop Simulator via Steam Workshop and it looks terrific! Being able to play with friends who cannot make it to a regular game night, or that might otherwise not get a chance to play a two-player only game, has allowed us to share this wonderful product with a few new patrons. We have yet to find someone who did not enjoy this game once we got it in front of them.

We doubt this game will ever find itself without a space on our shelf. Skulk Hollow offers so much and just hits perfectly in so many ways. It is easy to teach, fun to play, engaging and tactical, a wonderful collection of art, and doesn’t take up too much room either. It won’t always make it to a game night, as it is strictly two players, and that may be a turn-off for some people looking to engage with larger groups. Do not let this turn you away from this gem, however, as it is quite simply one of the best games we own. This game knows what it is and accomplishes what it set out to do in spades. Good job, Pencil First Games, and keep it coming!

All photos of Pencil First Games product were taken and edited by Krista unless otherwise specified.