Milda Simonsson double feature: Turncoats & Pax Penning

The Swedish designer Matilda Simonsson creates peculiar, idiosyncratic, handmade board games about the entanglements of power and influence. In this slot, we'll be playing two of her designs: Turncoats and Pax Penning.

Turncoats is competitive game for 2-5 players, where three factions are at war. The players take on the role of Aspirants and Interlopers, not obviously tied to any one group. Instead, they must manage their loyalties, represented by stones in their hand that they keep hidden from everyone else.

Simonsson's next game, Pax Penning, builds upon Turncoats in some interesting ways. Players take on the role of small kings, local chieftains, and wealthy peasants who have been invited by the first Christian king of Sweden to participate in his nationbuilding. He has participated in the Danelaw, and saw how the Brits created a strong centralized kingdom, and the role currency played in that. He wants to do the same, but he can't do it without the help of the local movers and shakers, as represented by the players.