‘Skulls n’ Ladders’ Impressions: Ghastly Gold Grabbing

Gold. Gold is good. I like gold. A lot. But… it has been known to overwhelm unfortunate souls with greed, to the point where their quest for currency – whether it be in the form of coin or something less common – proved downright fatal. Such is also the case in Skulls n’ Ladders, as those not careful will have a nasty end-of-the-line encounter with… a ghost!

Not that you should let that get in the way of grabbing as many coins as possible while ascending each of the fourteen floors, though. I mean, getting rid of those darn ghosts is always an option, even if the exchange ratio is one coin to one ghost (so long as it lands within earshot of – or hits – said target). But if the loss of a single coin enables you to climb higher, I’d wager it’s worth it, as there’s plenty more ahead. Just keep in mind that the more you carry, the more noise you’ll be making, attracting spirits further and further away. That said, restarts are immediate and the layout will be different every time you do, so feel free to take chances – be a risk-taker in the name of… wealth? Or something.

All in all, Skulls n’ Ladders is an enjoyable score-chaser, even if its music could do with more variety. It did come to be during Ludum Dare 40 last month though, meaning arly put his fun little coin collector together in less than 72 hours. Pretty darn impressive if you ask me, audible shortcuts and all.

So… think you can beat my record of 6700 points? Only one way to find out: grab a copy of Skulls n’ Ladders – or play the HTML5 version in your browser – and get to flinging gold at ghosts while ascending towards the high heavens (or the fourteenth floor – whichever comes first).