Corona de Hierro

About this board game

Corona de Hierro is a strategy game for 3–5 players, with matches lasting about 60 minutes, set in 9th-century Italy as the death of King Carlos III approaches.

Each player takes the role of an Italian noble seeking to build power before the last Carolingian king dies. Negotiate with other nobles, the Pope, and the barbarians; mobilize armies; besiege castles; and win battles as you prepare for the coming coronation.

On each turn, a player takes two actions. These actions can shape the political and military struggle across the map:

• Move armies across the map.
• Besiege neutral or opposing castles to earn power and take prisoners.
• Attach adjacent armies to strengthen your military presence.
• Send emissaries to the Pope and the barbarians to increase power or draw cards.

The cards provide various effects, mainly improving the other actions available to you. Alongside open competition, every noble has a secret objective that can provide a bonus. Your objective may involve making another player king—or even arranging the crown for yourself.

The game ends when a player gets the crown, triggering the coronation. However, the most powerful noble is not necessarily the new king. In Corona de Hierro, the player with the most points at the end of the game wins, so military success, diplomacy, emissaries, and secret ambitions all matter as the struggle for power reaches its conclusion.