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King's Escape
The old war game of the North, brought to life. Lead the king's last guard to freedom, or close the ring and take his crown, across seven historic rule sets of Tafl. Battle a cunning computer, a friend at your PC, or anyone online.

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Features
Languages:
Interface Full Audio Subtitles
English ✔ ✔ ✔
French ✔ ✔
Italian ✔ ✔
German ✔ ✔
Spanish - Spain ✔ ✔
Japanese ✔ ✔
Korean ✔ ✔
Portuguese - Brazil ✔ ✔
Portuguese - Portugal ✔ ✔
Russian ✔ ✔
Simplified Chinese ✔ ✔
Spanish - Latin America ✔ ✔
Swedish ✔ ✔
Thai ✔ ✔
See all 14 supported languages

Coming Soon To Early Access

The developers of this game intend to release as a work in progress, developing with the feedback of players.

Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“King's Escape is already a complete game of Tafl: every rule set, the computer opponent, hot-seat and online play are in. We are launching in Early Access because we want players to shape what comes next. Tafl has a small, passionate community with strong opinions about rules and play, and we would rather build the tutorial, the campaign and the online features with you than guess.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We expect around six months. We will leave Early Access once the roadmap below is done and online play has been proven with a full community.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The full version is planned to add:
- An interactive tutorial that teaches moving, capturing and the king's escape step by step
- Controller and Steam Deck support
- A Saga campaign: a run of battles and puzzles across the rule sets and battlefields
- A daily challenge, the same position for everyone, with its own leaderboard
- More online features: draw offers, emotes, spectating and ranked play”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Fully playable from start to finish:
- Seven historic rule sets: Brandubh, Ard Rí, Tablut, Tawlbwrdd, Fetlar, Copenhagen and Alea Evangelii
- A computer opponent with five difficulty tiers, plus hints, undo and a practice mode
- Hot-seat play at one PC, and online play through Steam lobbies with friend invites
- Twelve armies and six battlefields, most of them won through deeds and victories
- Steam achievements, leaderboards and Steam Cloud saves
- Interface and subtitles in 14 languages (voice in English). Mouse and keyboard only. Online play is the newest part of the game, so expect fixes there first.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“We plan to keep the price the same through Early Access and full release. Everyone who buys during Early Access gets every update at no extra cost.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“Through the Steam forums and reviews. We read everything, and the order of the roadmap is open to change based on what players ask for most. Bug reports, rule-set questions and balance feedback on the computer opponent are especially welcome, and we will post patch notes with every update.”
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About This Game

The game the Vikings played for a thousand years

King's Escape is Tafl, the strategy game of the Norse world, rebuilt as a battle you can watch unfold. A small band of defenders shields the king at the heart of the board, and a larger host surrounds them. The defenders win if the king reaches safety. The attackers win if he falls.



Every piece moves like a rook and captures by surrounding. The rules take a minute to learn, but the game rewards a lifetime of play.

Features

  • Seven historic rule sets, from tiny Brandubh (7×7) to the vast Alea Evangelii (19×19), including tournament Copenhagen Hnefatafl with shieldwalls, exit forts and encirclement.
  • A computer opponent that plans like a general, with five tiers from Thrall to Konungr. Watch its intent as it seals corners, tightens the noose or runs for the edge.
  • Practice mode that stops you before a blunder and shows you a better move, with hints and undo for learning.



  • Play your way: against the computer, hot-seat with a friend at the same PC, or online through Steam. Invite friends straight from your Steam friends list.
  • Twelve armies, from the King's Huscarls and the Draugr Host to the Goblin Horde and the Abyssal Court, each led by a towering king. Two march with you from the start; the rest are won through deeds and victories.
  • Six battlefields to fight on, three of them unlocked by your deeds: a torchlit crypt, a fortress of ash, a misty barrow shore and more.
  • Steam achievements and leaderboards: eighteen deeds to earn, including some hidden ones, and swiftest-victory boards for every rule set.

AI Generated Content Disclosure

The developers describe how their game uses AI Generated Content like this:

The character voices and music in King's Escape were created with generative AI tools.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 470, 2 GB VRAM
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: Online battles need an internet connection and Steam.
    Recommended:
    • OS: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
    • Memory: 16 GB RAM
    • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, 6 GB VRAM
    • DirectX: Version 12
    • Storage: 2 GB available space
    • Additional Notes: Online battles need an internet connection and Steam.