How to play 'Skate'

One of the best ways to test your mad skateboarding skills is by playing Skate with your friends. This outdoor competition lets you go board-to-board with other skaters.

WARNING: Always wear protective clothing, including a helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, kneepads, and appropriate footwear. Skateboarding is not recommended for children under the age of 6, and children between the ages of 6 and 10 should only be allowed to ride with adult supervision.

Step 1: Find players
Choose your players. There is no limit to how many skateboarders can participate in Skate, but at least two are necessary to play the game.

Step 2: Establish an order
Establish the order in which the skaters will compete. Each player rolls the pair of dice and the person who rolls the highest number goes first, the next highest number goes second and so on. In case of a tie, players who roll the same number roll again until they break the tie.

Step 3: Start the game
The first player attempts their skateboard trick and the other players then evaluate the landing. If everyone agrees that the landing was good, the other skaters must successfully repeat the same trick or get a letter in the word “skate,” the first letter being “S.”

Before starting the game, make sure everyone agrees on what a “good landing” means. Some players want to see a skater ride away from the landing spot for a few seconds in order for it to count as “good.”

Step 4: Move down the line
If the first player doesn’t land the trick correctly, they gets an “S,” and the next player in line gets to perform a trick of their choosing, and so on down the line. Once a player has landed correctly, everyone else must duplicate that trick or get a “Skate” letter: an S-K-A-T or E.

Step 5: Five letters and out
Anyone who gets all five letters is eliminated from the game. The last player standing wins.

Fact: Skate is based on the game of Horse that’s played on a basketball court.