How to play Twelve Crowns

Twelve enemies, in order

The four Jacks, then the four Queens, then the four Kings, one at a time, with one deck shared between everybody. You play cards to wound whichever is in front of you, and then pay what it hits back out of your own hand. Run out of cards to pay with and it is over for the table.

Suits are powers

Hearts shuffle the discard pile back under the deck. Diamonds deal cards round the table. Clubs double the blow, and spades blunt the enemy for the rest of the fight.

An Ace goes down with any one other card and both powers fire. Two to four of the same number go down together and every power fires at their total. An enemy cancels the power of its own suit — and a Jester cancels the cancelling.

The rule nothing can enforce

You may say how many cards you hold and you may not say what they are. Nothing in the software can police that, so the interface offers exactly one thing to say and only at the one moment the rules allow it: after a Jester, when somebody has to decide who goes next. Everything else on the screen is already public.

Alone

The solo game is the published solo game rather than a lonely version of the group one: eight cards, and two Jesters set aside that each throw your hand away and deal you a fresh eight. Finish without using either and it is a Gold victory. There are deliberately no bots.

Questions people ask

Are we playing against each other?

No. Everybody is playing the deck, and the deck usually wins. Nobody at the table can be beaten by anybody else at it.

Can I play Twelve Crowns on my own?

Yes, and it is a different game rather than a smaller one: eight cards in hand and two Jesters set aside, each of which throws your hand away and deals you a fresh eight. Finishing without spending either is the good ending.

Does anybody have to install anything to play Twelve Crowns?

No. It runs in the browser everyone already has open. One person opens a room, reads out the six-character code or pastes the link into the channel, and everyone else is at the table in a couple of seconds.

Do we need accounts?

No. There is no sign-up, no password and no email address anywhere in the flow. You pick a name when you sit down, and that is the whole of it.

How many people can play Twelve Crowns?

1 to 4 — best with three. A room seats up to 12.

How long does a game of Twelve Crowns take?

About 25 minutes, which is the length of a coffee break rather than the length of a games night. Nobody is the host in the sense of holding the controls, so a round finishes whether or not everyone is still looking at it.

Does it work over a video call?

That is what it is for. The game is on the screen and the talking is on the call — nobody has to describe a board to anybody, and the parts that must stay private stay on the server rather than being read out.