The nights are dark, the sun is feeble. The mountain groans with hunger. The rivers are frozen wounds and the trees stand like rigid bolts of black lightning. Bells echo in the wind and strange bearded figures emerge from the fireplaces, only to be shooed away with pies and brandy. Surprisingly, the roses are in full bloom. Slip on your slippers. Stoke the fire. Take a seat. It's time to reminisce. It's time to rejuvenate. It's time to give in to an emerging addiction. It's time... to play Skeal. If you've played Skeal with us before, no further explanation is needed - here's a link to the browser version. If you haven't played Skeal yet, more words would spoil the surprise. Go ahead, it's free. Playing Skeal has been a tradition of RPS Wintermas since it was declared by Alice O in 2017. After Alice O departed for the sea in 2024 - rumored to now reside in a gray tower - Graham carried on the tradition. Now with Graham gone, I uphold the tradition in their absence. Does this make you melancholic? Perfect - that's the perfect mood for playing Skeal. But it's a pleasant kind of melancholy, the kind that brings release, the kind of... truly terrible puns. Watch on YouTube Skeal is like a masterclass in turning a cringe into a tear-inducing laugh by drawing out the punchline and fully committing to it. It shouldn't make me cry, but it does. I plan to have my sister's partner play it this holiday season. He's around my age, and I'm certain it will bring tears to his eyes as well. Then I'll introduce it to my nephew, who will probably look at me as if I offered him a bowl of toothpaste. The important thing is that emotions will be stirred. I hope Skeal evokes emotions in you too. Once again, with feeling: Skeal is the creation of Nick Cummings, who also develops games about laundry sorting, hermit crabs, and racoonomics. Let's call him St. Nick. Merry Decemberween to all.
