Don't Get Fired At Work skeleton encounter: how to beat the Halloween boss

The giant skeleton in Don't Get Fired at Work isn't a boss you seek out — the encounter starts on its own during the workday. A meeting begins, the lights go out, and the whole office is cast down to hell, where a giant skeleton greets everyone with "Welcome to the afterlife." To beat it, shoot the skeleton continuously through its three stages, dodge its attacks once stage three hits, and keep firing with everyone until it's sent back to the grave. The fight is over when you're returned to the office and the boss tells you to get back to work.

Here's how the encounter plays out during Don't Get Fired at Work's first-ever Halloween event, and what to do at each point.

How the skeleton encounter starts

The encounter begins by itself during a normal workday: a meeting starts, the lights cut out, and the players are cast down to hell in the middle of the workday. The giant skeleton appears and greets you with "Welcome to the afterlife." You can start shooting as soon as the skeleton appears.

Beating the skeleton, stage by stage

The fight runs three stages, announced as "Stage two of three" and then stage three. Your job stays mostly the same throughout:

Stage three is where the fight changes: the skeleton starts attacking, so dodging joins shooting. The skeleton dies to sustained group fire — the fight's closing call is "Everyone, fire. Send him back to the grave." Keep firing with everyone until it's dead.

How you know the fight is over

The ending is unmistakable. After the skeleton drops, everyone is returned to the office, and the boss surveys the aftermath: "Where did everyone go? And why is there bone dust on my carpet? Happy Halloween. Now get back to work." If you're back at your desk and the bone-dust line lands, you've beaten the encounter. The narrator frames the whole trip as a Halloween gift from the boss, who is shown sad once it's over — and then the workday resumes.

The badge and the coffin chair

The game's page lists a "You beat the skeleton" badge held by about 27% of players, tied to that first-ever Halloween event — the page doesn't specify whether beating this exact fight is what unlocks it or whether another event condition does. Playing the event also earns a limited coffin chair at the end, which the event description pitches as a way to show you were an early player. The event runs until Saturday, October 31 at 9:55 a.m. Pacific / 12:55 p.m. Eastern. For more on the game's chairs, see the Halloween chair skin and chair skins pages.

For the other surprises that can hijack your shift, see our Don't Get Fired at Work event guides, or start with the how not to get fired guide if you're new to the office.