Skully (also called skelly, skellies, skelsy, skellzies, scully, skelzy, scummy top, tops, loadies or caps) is a children's game played on the streets of New York City and other urban areas. Sketched on the street usually in chalk, a skully board allows a game for two to six players. A sidewalk is sometimes used, offering greater protection from vehicular traffic; however, the asphalt on a typical city street is smoother and provides better game play than a bumpy concrete sidewalk. Game time varies, but a match of two to three players is usually completed in 20 minutes. Local variations in rules are common and make it difficult to document the game. Rule variations are agreed upon by players before starting a game, especially when players from different neighborhoods play against each other. The skully board The skully field of play, or board, is a large square approximately six feet (2 m) a side. This board is drawn on a flat surface, such as the pavement of a street or playground. At each corner and along the edges of the board are drawn 12 smaller squares, called boxes, of about six inches (15 cm) a side each (see diagram). These boxes are labeled "1" to "12" in a pattern so that the path from one square to the next requires—as much as possible—crossing through a large center square called the skull or skully (hence the name of the game). Boxes "1" and "2" are in opposite corners of the board, as are "3" and "4". In the center of the skull, a 13th box is drawn at the same size as the other boxes and is labeled "13". The areas around the 13 box are marked with skulls or numbers, and describe a penalty area where players are not meant to shoot their game pieces, called caps. A short distance from the "1" box is found a start line approximately six inches long. The dimensions of the skully board can vary depending upon physical restrictions and neighborhood game play practices. Earlier versions of the board had only 9 boxes, and boards used in the similar games like deadbox (played mainly in Philadelphia) have upwards of 15 boxes. In some layouts, the central area is labeled "MUD" or "BURNS"; if your bottle-cap lands in the MUD you lose 3 turns. The game board goes up to 10 which is in a small