What Thorns is
Three roses and one skull each, played face down. Claim you can flip a run of roses without hitting bone — or dare someone else to try.
You place one disc face down, and then the table goes round: add another, or open the bidding. Every disc anybody has laid could be the skull, and the backs are identical, so the only information in the game is who is willing to keep talking.
A bid is a number — how many face-down discs you can flip without hitting a skull. The only way to stay in is to raise it, so the last person still bidding has to go and do it, starting with their own pile and all of it.
Fail and one of your discs is taken for good, and only you are told what it was. Lose all four and you are out; make two successful challenges and the game is yours.
How to play Thorns
- You hold three roses and one skull. Each round everybody plays one face down.
- Then, in turn, add another disc to your pile or open the bidding.
- A bid is how many discs you can flip without hitting a skull. Raise it or pass.
- The last bidder standing has to do it — starting with their own pile, all of it.
- Make the bid and you win the round. Two rounds wins the game.
- Hit a skull and you lose a disc forever. Lose them all and you are out.
How to win at Thorns
Play the skull early
Piles are flipped from the top down, so a skull laid first sits under every rose you add and never blocks your own bid.
Your own pile comes first
A challenge clears your whole stack before you may touch anybody else’s, which makes a big bid a bet on your own discs.
Stack to raise the ceiling
The highest legal bid is the number of face-down discs on the table, so adding discs is how you tempt somebody past what they can make.
An empty hand has to bid
Once all four of your discs are down there is nothing left to add, so your turn becomes a bid whether you wanted one or not.
Passing costs you nothing
Only the challenger can lose a disc, so letting an obvious overreach go ahead is often stronger than fighting it.
Questions about Thorns
Who chooses which disc I lose?
Nobody. A failed challenge takes one of your remaining discs at random, and you are the only person told what it was — so whether you still hold your skull is something the table has to work out.
Can I flip other players’ discs before my own?
Never. Your own pile goes first, top disc down and all of it, and only then may you take the top disc off anybody else’s — which is the whole risk of a large bid.
What do I actually see of everyone else?
A height, never a list. Each player’s pile ships as a count of face-down discs, and the only discs ever named are the ones a challenger has genuinely turned over.
How does the game end?
Two successful challenges takes it, or one or three if the host changed it. A table can also end by attrition, once everybody but one player has lost all four discs.
Is Thorns free?
Yes. Every game on Table Party is free, with no accounts, no adverts and nothing to buy.
How many people do you need for Thorns?
Between 3 and 6. Below 3 there are not enough of you for the game to work.
Do we need to download anything?
No. One person opens the site and starts a room; everybody else joins by typing the room code on their own phone. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.
Can we play Thorns over a video call?
Yes. Share the room code in the chat and play with the call running — everything private stays on each player’s own phone.
