Crown & Courage with Stretch Goals unlocked in the campaign
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🐸 Una rana saggia sa quando dividere l’ordine… e quando aspettare il salto giusto.
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Every choice matters. Every path hides German patrols. The snow, the mountains, the ticking clock. And in the end, you understand what it means to carry the hope of an entire nation on your shoulders.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT
The escape of the Norwegian royal family through the mountains
April 9, 1940. The Germans invade Norway. The royal family has a few hours to flee Oslo before Nazi troops close off every escape route. Designed by Petter Schanke Olsen and illustrated by Jog Brogzin and Joeri Lefevre, Crown & Courage tells this desperate escape through snow-covered landscapes, mountain passes, and isolated villages. Every kilometer could mean capture. Every decision could change Norway's destiny.
At the table, you guide King Haakon VII and his family through a country falling apart. You choose paths, manage limited resources, evade German patrols, and seek safe havens. The game blends low-randomness eurogame mechanics (deck building, tech tree, resource management) with the narrative tension typical of the best solitaire wargames. It's not a military campaign: it's a race against time where every tactical choice carries the weight of a moral choice.
What they say abroad
A wargame that isn't about battles, but about survival, dignity, and hope. Rarely is a solitaire game so tense and personal at the same time.
— FroGames
Eurogame mechanics at the service of History: every resource spent, every card drawn, every hex crossed tells a piece of that impossible escape.
— FroGames
Crown & Courage
Crown & Courage is designed exclusively for solitaire play. There is no automa or conversion: the game simulates the German advance, environmental conditions, and historical events through a chit-pull and event card system. The experience is complete and balanced for one person, with dedicated scenarios and variable objectives that tell different moments of the royal escape.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsElements of the journey
What helps (and hinders) you along the escape
The Royal Family
Each member has different abilities and specific vulnerabilities. Protecting the king is the absolute priority, but leaving someone behind can cost victory points and hope.
Limited resources
Food, money, information, local contacts. Each resource is spent only once, and you don't always find supplies. Choose when to use what: saving today can cost you tomorrow.
German patrols
The chit-pull system simulates the Nazi advance. Each turn, tiles are drawn that move troops, close roads, and increase pressure. You don't know when they will arrive, but you know they will.
Alternative routes
Dangerous but fast mountain passes, safe but slow villages, main roads controlled by the Germans. Every route choice is a gamble between time, safety, and resources.
By the end of the game, you will have crossed half of Norway. And you will understand what it means to carry a kingdom on your shoulders as the world collapses.
Come si gioca
Video dimostrativo di gameplay.
A five-part game
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Escape from Oslo
You lay out the map, draw initial cards, choose your first path. The royal family is still together, resources seem sufficient, the Germans are far away. You have the illusion that you can plan. It doesn't last long.
The first patrol
You draw the first German chit. A patrol advances faster than expected, blocking the road you wanted to take. You have to choose: detour into the mountains (slower, colder, more resources) or risk an unmapped secondary route. You realize you'll never control everything.
Running out of resources
Mid-game. You've spent more food than expected. A family member is injured. The deck-building cards you've acquired give you options, but every action costs something you don't have. You start making impossible choices: leaving a safe haven behind to gain time, sacrificing victory points to survive one more turn.
The event that changes everything
You draw a historical event card: a loyal village offers refuge, or a traitor signals your position to the Germans. History bursts into the game. It's not just mechanical optimization: it's the story of a real escape, with real people, real choices. You stop for a second to think about what you would have done.
The border or capture
Last turns. You are a few hexes from the Swedish border or a safe port. The Germans are very close. Every card drawn is a blow to the heart. You win if you cross, you lose if they catch you. You count the victory points, look at the map, re-read the victory conditions. Whatever the outcome, you have lived a story.
How to play
The flow of each round
Each turn is a sequence of decisions under pressure: move the family, manage events, face the German threat.
Choose which cards to play from your hand (deck building). Each card offers actions (move, acquire resources, improve tech tree). You plan the turn based on what you have and where you need to go.
Move the royal family on the grid map. Each hex has movement and resource costs. Some paths are blocked, others require specific cards. Each step consumes time and supplies.
Draw one or more event cards from the deck. Historical events, encounters with civilians, weather conditions, news from the fronts. Some help you, others worsen the situation. React with the resources you have.
Chit-pull system: you draw German tiles that activate patrols, close roads, advance towards your position. You don't know when they will arrive, but the pool empties and the risk grows. If they catch you, you lose.
Why it's different from others
Six mechanics that make a difference
Faithful historical map
The grid represents the real geography of Norway in 1940: mountains, rivers, villages, roads. Each hex corresponds to real places where the royal family stopped, hid, and was helped. It's not an abstract board: it's a piece of history.
Chit-pull instead of dice
The German advance is not pure randomness: you draw tiles from a pool that gradually empties. You know what can come out, but not when. You can mitigate luck with planning, but not eliminate it. Like in the real escape.
Deck building under pressure
Acquire action cards during the journey, build a more efficient deck. But you don't have the luxury of engine building: the Germans are advancing, time is running out, every setup turn is a lost turn. You must balance optimization and urgency.
Narrative tech tree
Improve family skills, unlock contacts, open alternative paths. Each upgrade tells a story: the king learns to move in the mountains, the queen builds a network of trust, the princes become more resilient. Mechanics and narration merge.
Reverse tower defense
You don't defend a position: you flee from an advancing enemy. The structure resembles tower defense, but reversed. The Germans build their network of control, you look for holes, time windows, unguarded paths. Constant tension.
Multiple historical scenarios
Different setups represent different moments of the royal escape: the evacuation from Oslo, the mountain crossing, the arrival at the Swedish border. Each scenario has variable objectives, durations, and difficulties. You play the same story from different angles.
How it ends
How to win and how to lose
Victory is reaching a safe haven or the border. Defeat is being captured, or losing the king.
Victory
- The royal family reaches the Swedish border or a safe port within the turn limit
- King Haakon VII survives and maintains the legitimacy of the government in exile
- You accumulate enough victory points (survivors, saved resources, completed historical events) to exceed the scenario threshold
Defeat
- A German patrol reaches the king's position and captures him
- The king dies due to lack of resources (hunger, cold, untreated wounds)
- Time runs out before the family reaches a safe place, and the Germans consolidate control of Norway
Crown & Courage is not a wargame about battles: it's a wargame about escape, dignity, and resistance. Every game tells a true story that deserved to be told this way.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Crown & Courage
Is it a traditional wargame or an eurogame with a historical theme?
It's a rare hybrid: it uses eurogame mechanics (deck building, resource management, tech tree) to tell a historical conflict. There are no direct fights, but there is all the tactical tension of a wargame. If you love solo games like This War of Mine or COIN wargames, Crown & Courage speaks your language.
How long does a full game last?
From 70 to 90 minutes for a complete scenario. The first turns are slower (you learn the system), then the pace accelerates. Short scenarios (escape from Oslo) take 60 minutes, long ones (complete crossing) approach 2 hours if you want to optimize every move.
How much does luck count compared to strategy?
The chit-pull and event cards introduce variability, but planning counts more than chance. You can mitigate risk with tactical choices (alternative paths, backup resources), but you never eliminate uncertainty. Like in a real escape: you prepare everything, then you have to improvise. Strategy weight approximately 70%, luck 30%.
Do you need to know the history of Norway to play?
No. The game tells the story as you play it: event cards, place names, historical figures are all contextualized. If you already know the historical events, you appreciate the details and moral choices even more. If you don't know it, you learn by playing. The rulebook includes historical notes for each scenario.
Is it available in Italian?
No, this edition is in English. The texts on the cards and in the rulebook require a good understanding of English, especially for historical events and flavor text. The eurogame mechanics are iconographic and quite clear after the first scenario.
Crown & Courage is a low-randomness solitaire wargame set in Norway in 1940, designed by Petter Schanke Olsen and published by Tompet Games. For 1 player, ages 14+, duration 70-90 minutes. It combines eurogame mechanics (deck building, tech tree, resource management) with the narrative tension of the best solitaire wargames. The player guides the Norwegian royal family fleeing the Nazi invasion, choosing paths, managing limited resources, avoiding German patrols. Chit-pull system to simulate enemy advance, multiple historical scenarios, map faithful to real geography. Available on FroGames.it with 24-hour shipping.
Crown & Courage with Stretch Goals unlocked in the campaign
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