Two Crowns
Tier 1 · Deception-Heavy
Two Crowns

Two banners. Two hidden kings. Two traitors. Six rounds of bloody court.

6–12 players·30–50 min·Online Playable
Enter the Game

The Premise

Two kingdoms — the Crimson Banner and the Azure Banner — clash on a contested borderland. Each kingdom has sent a court of soldiers into hostile territory. Their KING travels among them in disguise. Soldiers don't know which of them serves as their sworn liege. The enemy must find and slay the king. Hidden among each court is a TRAITOR — a defector who appears loyal to their visible banner but secretly serves the rival crown.

Every action you take is read. Defending a player too obviously implies they're your king. Striking too early gives away you don't trust your team. The longer you wait, the more strikes accumulate.

The Roles

Crimson King

Crimson King

×1

You wear the Crimson banner and YOU are its king. Your soldiers do not know it is you. Survive. Once per game you may Coronate (publicly reveal as king) to gain +1 wound buffer + a one-shot Decree (banish a player from next round).

secret role
Crimson Soldier

Crimson Soldier

×2-4

You wear the Crimson banner. You do not know who your king is. Find them, protect them, slay the Azure king. Beware the traitor among you.

Crimson Traitor

Crimson Traitor

×0-1

You wear the Crimson banner — but you secretly serve Azure. Sabotage your fake court without being caught. A Glorious Defection awards a solo bonus if Azure wins, you survive, and you sabotaged.

secret role
Azure King

Azure King

×1

You wear the Azure banner and YOU are its king. Mirror of the Crimson King — same powers, opposite faction.

secret role
Azure Soldier

Azure Soldier

×2-4

You wear the Azure banner. Find your king, protect them, slay the Crimson king.

Azure Traitor

Azure Traitor

×0-1

You wear the Azure banner but secretly serve Crimson. Mirror of the Crimson Traitor.

secret role

How a Round Plays

Phase 01

Court (open discussion)

90 seconds of open table-talk. Players claim, accuse, propose alliances. Kings want to seem like soldiers. Traitors want to seem loyal.

Phase 02

Private Pledge

15 seconds. Each player privately writes the name of one ally they trust. Sealed until game-end (used for tiebreak).

Phase 03

Action

Each player privately submits ONE: Strike (attack), Shield (block 1 strike), Investigate (1/game — see true banner), Coronate (kings only — public reveal), Decree (post-coronation banish), or Pass.

Phase 04

Resolve

Coronations resolve first (false coronations = instant death). Investigations privately delivered. Strikes tally; 2+ unblocked wounds = death. Kings need 3 wounds.

Phase 05

Reveal

Eliminated players' bodies revealed. Banner shown. Role shown only if king or had used Coronation.

Win Conditions

Crimson

Azure King is dead AND Crimson King is alive at any point. All living Crimson Soldiers + the Crimson King share this win.

Azure

Crimson King is dead AND Azure King is alive at any point. Symmetrical to Crimson.

Traitor (Glorious Defection)

TRUE team (the one you secretly serve) wins + you survive + you performed at least 1 sabotage (struck a teammate, helped enemy, etc.). Solo bonus on top of team win.

Stalemate Chaos

If both kings die in the SAME round, ALL TRAITORS win solo (chaos victory).

Designer Notes

The blindness is layered. Soldiers don't know their own king — they have to deduce them from behavior (who plays protectively, who claims things at suspicious moments). Kings face a tempo dilemma: coronate too early and you become target #1; coronate too late and your soldiers fail to protect you. Traitors play the deepest game — their best move is often a *false coronation* sacrifice to mislead the enemy team. And investigations reveal TRUE banner (not visible banner), which is the only way to catch traitors.

Balance:Strike-to-kill: 2 wounds (3 for crowned king). Each player has 2 shields total. Investigation: 1 per game. Coronation: 1 per king. Decree: 1 per king (post-coronation). Playtest: loyal teams ~75% combined, traitor solos ~20%, chaos ~5%.

Strategy Tips

  • Coronate at round 3-4
    Too early = target. Too late = dead. Round 3-4 is the sweet spot when soldiers can still rally to protect you.
  • Investigate teammates, not enemies
    Banner is public — investigating an enemy reveals nothing. Investigate your own team to find traitors masquerading as loyal.
  • Traitors: false coronation is high art
    If you're losing badly, sacrifice via false coronation. Enemy thinks the real king died. Pure deception.
  • Soldiers: protect protectively
    Don't shield obvious targets — that signals they're your king. Shield rotation patterns leak info.

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