Crown and Council
{{Short description|2016 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Crown and Council
| image = Crown and Council art.jpg
| developer = Mojang
| publisher = Mojang
| designer = Henrik Pettersson
| released = April 22, 2016
| genre = Turn-based strategy
| modes = Single-player
| platforms = Microsoft Windows
}}
Crown and Council is a turn-based strategy game developed by Mojang employee Henrik Pettersson. The game was both announced and released as a surprise on Steam on April 22, 2016 and was made available for free.{{cite web|url=https://www.mojang.com/2016/04/play-crown-and-council-a-new-free-game|title=PLAY CROWN AND COUNCIL - A NEW, FREE GAME!|publisher=Mojang|first=Marsh|last=Davies|date=April 22, 2016|accessdate=April 22, 2016}}
Gameplay
The game puts the player in control of a nation warring against others on a tile-based map. Each turn, the player earns income based on conquered tiles, and can spend earned money to conquer other tiles or improve their own through the construction of structures like forts, villages and universities, which all provide different bonuses. The player wins a map once they have eliminated every enemy, regardless of actual remaining neutral tiles.{{cite web|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/04/22/crown-council-free-strategy-game-from-minecraft-devs-mojang|title=Minecraft Devs Release Crown And Council Free|publisher=Rock, Paper, Shotgun|last=O'Connor|first=Alice|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=22 April 2016}} There are 75 maps, with the possibility of additional maps being procedurally generated.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-dev-releases-surprise-free-game-on-steam/1100-6439094|title=Minecraft Dev Releases Surprise Free Game on Steam|work=GameSpot|publisher=CBS Interactive|last=Pereira|first=Chris|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=22 April 2016}}
Development and release
The game was developed entirely by Mojang programmer Henrik Pettersson.{{cite web|last1=Moss|first1=Richard|title=Mojang's Crown and Council: From hobby project to Steam release|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/273446/Mojangs_Crown_and_Council_From_hobby_project_to_Steam_release.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526133500/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/273446/Mojangs_Crown_and_Council_From_hobby_project_to_Steam_release.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 26, 2016|website=Gamasutra|publisher=UBM|accessdate=27 June 2017|date=25 May 2016}} It was originally conceived in a 72-hour game jam,{{cite web|url=http://www.gamestar.de/news/vermischtes/3271404/crown_and_council.html|title=Crown and Council - Überraschung: Gratis-Spiel der Minecraft-Macher - ohne Haken|trans-title=Crown and Council - surprise: free game of Minecraft-makers - without hooks|language=German|publisher=Gamestar|author=Von Tobias Ritter|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=22 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623023710/http://www.gamestar.de/news/vermischtes/3271404/crown_and_council.html|archive-date=23 June 2016|url-status=dead}} and was inspired by the games History of the World and Slay.{{cite web|title=Slay|url=http://www.windowsgames.co.uk/slay.html|website=Sean O'Connor Games|accessdate=27 June 2017}} Pettersson described the game as "experimental", and that while Mojang remains "a Minecraft company doing Minecraft things" and that most of the prototyping happens within the Minecraft environment, developers have some time set aside to work on their own ideas. As a hobby project, Crown and Council was not originally intended for public release; Pettersson, an artist who joined Mojang to work on Scrolls in 2011, used the relatively simple project to learn to code. He believed that even if the game was to be distributed one day, it would be rebuilt by "real programmers". The game was worked on over multiple months and used bits of code taken from other Mojang projects. Pettersson credits Minecraft Pocket Edition programmer Aron Nieminen as his programming mentor.
It is the first game developed by Mojang that is released on Steam,{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/reminding-it-s-more-than-just-i-minecraft-i-mojang-releases-new-free-game|title=Reminding it's more than just Minecraft, Mojang releases new free game|website=Gamasutra|publisher=UBM|last=Wawro|first=Alex|date=22 April 2016|access-date=22 April 2016}} although Mojang published Oxeye Game Studio's Cobalt on Steam in February 2016. The Steam release was originally suggested by Mojang producer Daniel Kaplan, and the opportunity was used to learn the process, which Pettersson describes as "surprisingly straightforward", noting that Mojang parent company Microsoft had no issues with licensing and trademarking Crown and Council for release on Steam.
Pettersson originally said he planned on continuing working on the game to fix bugs and add features. An update released in January 2017 added a 99-map campaign and tweaks to the procedural generation and land-taking mechanics to improve balance. The most important change was in the calculations affecting the attack and defence of territories: the element of "randomness" was removed, and "attrition" was added, meaning that failed attacks improve the chance of future attacks succeeding. This update also added macOS and Linux versions.{{cite web|last1=Caldwell|first1=Brendan|title=Crown and Council gets royally updated, still free|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/01/31/crown-and-council-gets-royally-updated-still-free/|website=Rock, Paper, Shotgun|accessdate=27 June 2017|date=31 January 2017}}
Reception
The game has been described as a faster paced, minimalistic strategy game reminiscent of Risk{{cite web|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/mojang-strategy-game-crown-and-council|title=Mojang releases a free strategy game called Crown and Council|work=PCGamer|publisher=IDG|last=Chalk|first=Andy|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=22 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Eddy|first1=Max|title=Mojang Crown and Council (for PC) Review & Rating|url=https://www.pcmag.com/review/344115/mojang-crown-and-council-for-pc|website=PCMag|accessdate=1 August 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://www.techinsider.io/minecraft-creators-announce-crown-and-council-2016-4|title=The people behind 'Minecraft' have a new game and it's totally free|publisher=Tech Insider|last=Mulkerin|first=Tim|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=22 April 2016}} or Civilization, and as a single-player Eight Minute Empire.{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/4/22/11490682/mojang-minecraft-crown-and-council-strategy-game-steam|title=The studio behind Minecraft just released a free strategy game on Steam|work=The Verge|publisher=Vox Media|last=Webster|first=Andrew|date=22 April 2016|accessdate=22 April 2016}} It was also described as traditional but entertaining, with a good challenge,{{cite web |last1=Eddy |first1=Max |date=28 April 2016 |title=Mojang Crown and Council (for PC) |url=https://www.pcmag.com/review/344115/mojang-crown-and-council-for-pc |accessdate=27 June 2017 |work=PCMag |publisher=Ziff Davis}} but it runs out of content after just a few levels.{{cite web |title=Crown and Council for PC Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/crown-and-council/critic-reviews/?platform=pc |accessdate=1 August 2017 |website=Metacritic |publisher=CBS Interactive}}
It has received mixed user reviews from players.{{cite web|author1=Daniel R. Miller|title=Minecraft developers launch new game, Crown and Council, for free on Steam|url=http://www.gamezone.com/news/minecraft-developers-launch-new-game-crown-and-council-for-free-on-steam-3436336|website=GameZone|accessdate=24 April 2016|date=22 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Nunneley|first1=Stephany|title=Mojang releases free, causal strategy game Crown and Council on Steam|url=https://www.vg247.com/2016/04/23/mojang-releases-free-causal-strategy-game-crown-and-council-on-steam/|website=VG247|accessdate=24 April 2016|date=23 April 2016}} It was estimated to be downloaded about 60,000 times in the month following its release.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website|http://crownandcouncil.mojang.com}}
{{Mojang}}
Category:Real-time strategy video games
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Turn-based strategy video games