Norwegian software developer, Apps AS, has satisfied my 45-year desire to play kronespill, Norway's flick-a-coin game. Now I can play a Ray T6 with their Kronespillet HD app for the iPad or a Ray T5 with their Kronespillet apps for iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android.

Ray T5 and T6 Games

As I described in Kronespill: Norway's Flick-a-Coin Game, a player flicks a coin from the upper right of the playfield into one of seven pockets to dispense a reward from the coin columns below. Most coins fall between the pockets and roll down ramps to replenish the coin columns. Drain pockets on the sides collect excess coins into a coin box.

Beginning in 1970, Norway's Red Cross imported thousands of T5, T6, and later kronespill games from Finland, where they were manufactured by RAY, Raha-automaattiyhdistys, the state-owned monopoly that makes and operates the games to benefit charities. In the 1950s and 1960, master cabinetmaker Sverre Damm made kronespill games in Oslo, Norway. Earlier games also were imported from Finland, where they were invented in the 1930s.

Playing Kronespillet HD

Each Kronespillet HD game begins with all coin columns full and a supply of 60 kroner, the Norwegian crown coin, to play. A player flicks a coin onto the playfield by stroking his or her finger across the iPad screen. The speed and direction of the stroke control the movement of the coin as it enters the playfield.

With the optional accelerometer control turned on, the player can flick coins by tapping the side of the iPad. The strength and direction of the tap control the movement of the coin. This mode works better in the Kronespillet app because the lighter weight iPhone is more responsive to the taps.

Kronespillet HD contains a physics engine that models the pull of gravity and the bouncing of coins. The model is a little coarse: sometimes one or two coins get stuck, balanced on a pin near a pocket or coin column. The game allows players to flick several coins in rapid succession.

When a flicked coin drops into a pocket, the game releases coins from the bottom of one or more columns. The game models the movement of these coins as the jostle down ramps into the reward tray below. The player can briefly see coins falling into the tray, where they make satisfying clinks sounds.

The game ends after all 60 kroner have been played. The player can enter his or her name to record the score on the leaderboard for that iPad. Players can log into Facebook to compete with friends and other players around the world. Kronespillet HD can display three leaderboards: local, friends, and all.

As the display transitions from the playfield to the leaderboard and back, Kronespillet HD shows a very nice animation of the game rotating around to the other side of the cabinet.

High Scores

My high score to date is 107 kroner. This pales by comparison to the Tom Karlsen, who heads the global leaderboard with a remarkable 170 kroner.

I wonder what the highest possible score would be for a player skillful enough to flick every coin into the desired pocket.

Get the Apps

The iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch apps are available in Apple's App Store:

• Kronespillet HD for iPad
• Kronespillet for iPhone and iPod Touch

The Android app apparently is not available yet. Check back for updates.

Translations

Google's Language Tools helped me translate the controls and instructions from Kronespillet HD.