Three Crowns is a sophisticated game of pattern-formation, which was designed by Larry Back in 2000 for the 2001 8x8 Game Design Competition co-sponsored by About Board Games, Abstract Games magazine and the Strategy Gaming Society. Every game is a sharp battle. The goal is to crown your pieces, then to build a "crowned troika", a formation of three or more crowned pieces in a straight line, orthogonally or diagonally, all belonging to the same player.