Playing games of skate is something that most skateboarders enjoy.
It’s a fun way to warm up, or have some friendly competition with the people you skate with, and for the most part, it’s usually pretty lighthearted.
Generally people really aren’t that competitive with it, and it’s mostly just a fun game for skateboarders to play.
With that said, the point of the game is to beat the other person, which depending on how good you are at skating flat ground, may or may not be an easy thing to do.
Today, we’re going to go over a few tricks you can learn to beat anyone in a game of skate.
Now, these aren’t going to be crazy tricks that make you flip the board 4 times, do a body varial, and land with your legs crossed, they’re just normal tricks that a lot of of people don’t do that often, which makes them great for a game of skate.
Fakie Heelflip
The first trick you can do that’s almost guaranteed to get someone a letter in skate is a fakie heelflip.
For as simple as they are, fakie heelflips have to be one of the hardest flatground tricks there is.
Seriously, you’d be surprised at how many people can’t do them.
Without having any actual data whatsoever, I’d guess that around 90% of skateboarders favor kickflips, and there might be around 10% who favor heelflips, so if you can manage to do a fakie heel in a game of skate, you have a good chance of getting someone a letter.
For some reason, fakie heel flips are just a really weird trick, and people struggle with them even if they can do regular heelflips, nollie heelflips, and a variety of other heelflip variations.
Fakie heels also have a tendency to rocket flip, which makes them easy to credit card on, so a lot of people tend to avoid them altogether.
It’s one of those tricks that people might not even attempt to match if you set it in a game of skate.
It’s kind of tough to explain why fakie heels are so hard to do, and if you tried explaining it to someone who doesn’t skate, it probably wouldn’t make a lot of sense, but if you can manage to learn them, you basically have a guaranteed letter against anyone who plays you in skate.
Varial Kickflip
Next up we have varial kick flips.
Varial kickflips are one of the most hated tricks in skateboarding, and if you do one in a game of skate, there’s a good chance you’re going to get everyone a letter.
The weird thing about varial flips is that they’re not even that hard to do, but even people who have been skating for years will still get a letter on this trick.
Generally speaking, when people first start skating, varial kickflips are one of the first flip tricks they learn.
Then, they eventually learn treflips, and after that, varial flips kind of fade into the background and a lot of people don’t do them after they learn treflips.
There are plenty of reasons why, but one of the biggest reasons is that for a lot of people, treflips look cooler, and they’re easier to do on a variety of things.
All of this is to say that varial kickflips are often forgotten about, so if you set one in a game of skate, a lot of people will get a letter even if it’s a trick they can do.
People get so used to scooping a treflip that it’s hard to tone it down for a varial, and chances are, it’s probably been a pretty long time since they tried one.
If you want to get really dirty with it, you can also follow it up with a fakie varial, which might cost you a friendship, but it’s almost certain to get the other person another letter.
Pressure Flip
The next trick you can do for a guaranteed letter in a game of skate is a pressure flip.
The most common pressure flip is a pressure inward heel, but honestly, it doesn’t really matter what you go with.
You can do a pressure flip, a back 180 pressure flip, or even a pressure heel.
Basically, if you do any kind of pressure flip, you have a good chance at getting someone a letter.
Pressure flips are one of those tricks where you either have them or you don’t and the majority of skateboarders definitely fall into the second category.
People who can do them will constantly assure you that they’re not that hard to do, but it’s definitely easier said then done.
A lot of pros can’t even do them, so if you want to learn some tricks that will help you win games of skate, pressure flips might be the way to go.
People who can do pressure flips will tell you that once you learn one variation, it’s not that much harder to learn a few more, so it’s a great way to step up your flatground.
A great example of this is watching Eric Koston play skate.
He’s really good at pressure flips, and since he can do a few different variations, he essentially has 2-3 guaranteed letters on people in skate.
He might be going up against someone with 540 double flips on lock, but since he can pressure flip, he still manages to win.
Dolphin Flip
Another go-to trick to get someone a letter in skate is a forward flip.
A forward flip, also called a dolphin flip, is a varial kickflip that flips forward. It’s a super weird trick, which is exactly why it’s so good for beating someone in a game of skate.
Even though the rotation is the same as a varial kickflip, the tricks are completely different.
When people mess up on a varial flip, it’s usually because they haven’t done one in a while.
When someone messes up on a forward flip, it’s probably because they just can’t do it.
This might be a little confusing since they’re so similar but a forward flip is on a completely different level than a varial flip. Forward flips are a lot harder to learn, and the amount of people who can do them is definitely way smaller.
Basically everyone who’s been skating for a few years can varial flip, but even a lot of sponsored skaters never learn forward flips.
If you can somehow get good at forward flips, you’ll for sure be able to get a letter in skate on the majority of people.
Frontside 360 Shuv Its
Up next on the list we have frontside 3 shuvs.
Over the past few years, every kid with cuffed pants and a beanie has basically mastered backside 3 shuvs, but very few people ever do them frontside.
This is a great trick to get people with in a game of skate because almost no one does them, but they’re a lot easier to learn than some of the more technical tricks out there.
If you don’t believe me, go ahead and watch any of the Battle At The Berrics matches. You’ll see just about every flip trick imaginable, but in the 10 plus years they’ve been doing it, you could probably count on one hand the amount of frontside 3 shuvs that have been done.
Now frontside 360 shuv it’s definitely aren’t the easiest to learn, but they’re a lot easier than a lot of the other tricks out there, and they’ll for sure help you get a letter on someone in skate.
Inward Heel
Another solid trick to help you win a game of skate is an inward heel flip.
An inward heel flip takes two of the easiest flat ground tricks, a heel flip and a pop shuv it, and combines them to make one of the most difficult flat ground tricks you can do on a skateboard.
If you can think of one that’s harder, by all means leave it in the comments, because out of all of the basic flat ground tricks out there, inward heel flips have to be one of the toughest tricks there is.
Sure they’re probably easier than some of the 540 double flips that you see on Instagram, but when it comes to standard flat-ground tricks, they’re definitely high up as far as difficultly goes.
There’s something about them that just doesn’t work for most people, so if by some chance you can learn them, you’ll forever have a guaranteed letter on almost anyone you play skate with.
The great thing about this trick is that if you can do them regular, you can most likely do them fakie too, which means if you really want to play dirty you can easily get someone 2 letters instead of just one.
Nollie 360 Shuv / Fakie 360 Shuv
Next on the list is nollie and fakie 360 shuv its.
If you want to get someone a letter in skate, doing a fakie or nollie 3 shuv is a good way to do it.
Because of the way you’re rolling, it’s really easy to mess up the rotation of nollie and fakie 3 shuvs, so if you can get them down consistently, it’s a solid trick to set in a game of skate.
Also, both of those tricks are somewhat uncommon, so even if someone can do them, it’s likely they haven’t done one in a while which can help your chances of getting them a letter.
Both nollie and fakie 3 shuvs are pretty easy to learn even if you’re a beginner, so they can be good tricks to have regardless of your skill level.
It might be kind of a cheap trick to set, but if you want to win, sometimes those are the kinds of tricks you gotta do.
How To Beat Anyone In S.K.A.T.E
Just about every skater likes a good game of skate, and it’s a great way to have a little bit of friendly competition with some of your friends.
Even if you aren’t the best at flat ground tricks, if you’re smart about it, you can still get really good at winning games of skate with just a small handful of tricks.