Strongly agree, Skull is super simple to teach and even to make a copy, and can have great group dynamics. I don’t think it works with 2, though, but it’s small enough that having it as an option is reasonable
Have you tried Regicide? I love it because the footprint is literally a poker set and your smartphone. It's also kinda hard, and really gripping by the end.
Roll & Writes: We didn‘t enjoy Cartographer, it didn‘t feel exciting for us. Ganz schoen clever was another suggestion, but we‘d prefer no dice.
5 Minute Dungeon is awesome, but I played it so many times with my kids that I can‘t stand it anymore. But great suggestion! I‘ll have a look into your other suggestions.
On the lighter side i would suggest king of the dice as a yahtzee+ game, or port royal. A little mire involved and a great game is rajas of the ganges - the dice charmers (roll & write with good decisions)
Have you tried Fluxx? Not sure it's a game you can 'Master', but it does have some fun moments, and moments when you know a decision you make can totally change the game.
We have Zombie, Pirate, Space, and Cthulhu Fluxx. Zombie is the simplest one that we play the most and they get more complicated (cards affecting other cards/players more, etc) with some of the other decks. Personally I am not a fan of Cthulhu Fluxx but the other three are great!
I know you said preferably no dice, but... have you checked out Perudo/Liar's Dice? It's a cup & dice game based around bluffing
Sherriff of Nottingham is also a great push your luck sort of game but the footprint is probably bigger than you'd like, you're trying to make money by selling goods and maybe contraband past the sheriff, who could also be open to bribery...
Push: Easy game but lots of fun. As the name suggests a highly concentrated push your luck game that we always enjoy for some quick rounds.
Kakerlaken-Poker: Man this game is pure stress - Stress the game. A game where somebody removed everything apart from the STRESS - No fat - Filet Au Stress. Either you love it or you hate it. But exciting non the less! I only played the base game but some people suggest other versions of this game. So if you are interested you might want to have a look at the other versions as well
I love both of your recommendations, thank you! Kakerlaken Poker Royal seems to be a version you can play with or without the Royal cards. Maybe that‘s the one I‘ll get!
Three Cheers For Master. Struggles a little with the small footprint aspect, board states can get pretty large, but it is small and portable, quick to play, and a LOT of fun.
I often refer to it as the good version of Munchkin, in that its very funny, and features a lot of direct attack mechanics. The key difference is that every attack relies on exploiting a weakness in the opponent's board state. Instead of just feeling like you got fucked, you're always left thinking "Shit, I should have seen that coming. I'll do better next time."
Also, the card art and flavour text are some of the best I've ever seen.
Looks awesome but it can‘t be played with 2p, can it? Well maybe I just buy two games… Jaipur if we‘re two, sth like Archaeology, Startups,… if we‘re more. They all don‘t look very expensive.