A small studio with a big chip on its shoulder

Crown Shuffle is an indie card game made in Latvia by Ieva Grava and Mārtiņš Grava, with every character drawn by Andris Strazdīts. It's a fast, mean, funny card game about climbing the social ladder, set in a Middle Ages where the Dark Ages never happened. Two designers, one artist, no corporate overlords.

How it started

The idea showed up while we were travelling and playing cards, which is when all the best and worst ideas show up. Back home we kept playing our version with friends. They kept asking for one more round, and kept getting annoyed in exactly the right way. At some point it stopped being a house rule and started looking like a real game, and we figured other tables might like it too.

Who we are

We're Ieva and Mārtiņš, and we recently got married. So this household now has one King, one Queen, and an ongoing debate about which is which. Who wins more often at home is not something we discuss in public.

Every character is drawn by Andris Strazdīts, Mārtiņš's school mate and the creative one for as long as anyone can remember. When we decided to make a real game, there was no shortlist. It was Andris.

The Peasant problem

Our first version had a flaw. Once someone became King, nobody could knock them off. Once someone became the Peasant, they stayed there, handing over their best cards round after round and slowly losing the will to live.

So we gave the bottom of the table ability cards: steal a card, skip a player, that sort of thing. It worked too well. Suddenly the Peasant became King almost every time.

The fix turned into our favourite part of the game. We added seven ability cards that do absolutely nothing, like the Wooden Medal and Just Vibes. The Peasant still draws a card, everyone sees it, and nobody knows whether it's a real threat or just moral support. The bluffing does the balancing.

Why it's not called Kings & Peasants

While we were making it, the game was called Kings & Peasants. Then we found out another team was making a game with the same name, and they were already in production. We were a bit behind, so rather than fight over a name, we found a new one. Crown Shuffle describes the game better anyway: the crown never stays on one head for long.

Our great disaster

Every proper origin story needs a disaster. We honestly didn't have one, so here's one we made up. A goose stole the only prototype, and we had to win it back in a game of Crown Shuffle. The goose finished as the Peasant and refused to hand over its two best cards. We're still in talks.

Why crowdfunding

We don't want a warehouse full of boxes nobody ordered. Crowdfunding lets us see how many people actually want the game before we print it, so we make the right number, waste less, and have time to plan properly for everyone who backs us. Right now a small preview edition is being printed, and the campaign launches on Kickstarter in early 2027. Every name on the mailing list tells us one more table wants to play.

Get in touch

Press, retailers, content creators, or just a rules argument you need settled: email game@crownshuffle.com. Reviewers, see the press kit.