In Frostpunk, laws are binding choices that shape survival, public mood, and the city’s political direction. Hope and Discontent are separate pressures: a law can improve one while worsening the other. Before signing, weigh its practical benefit against its mood effects, any promise it creates, and whether it closes off another path.
How the Book of Laws works
The Book of Laws has two sections. Adaptation is available from the start and covers immediate needs such as work, food, and sickness. Purpose opens later and requires choosing between Faith and Order; once you commit to one, you cannot take laws from the other branch. Many laws build on earlier choices, and some competing laws rule out another solution to the same need. The community-maintained Book of Laws guide describes these branches and effects; exact behavior may differ by game version.
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A law can have several consequences at once: an immediate change to Hope or Discontent, an ongoing or activated effect, and an unlock or commitment. Some laws unlock a building and create a promise to construct it. If residents expect that building and the promise goes unmet, they can become displeased. The community guide also reports a cooldown between signings; the interval depends on the law.
What Hope and Discontent measure
Hope
Hope represents residents’ confidence that they will survive and that conditions in the city can improve. Laws, buildings, and events can change it. Some modifiers are temporary and others persist. If Hope becomes very low and stays there, the city can lose. The community-maintained Hope page describes the mechanic, but the sources do not establish one numeric defeat threshold for every scenario; do not assume a single universal cutoff.
#1 Best Overall
- POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVAL GAME: In Frostpunk, players will take on the role of leaders of a small colony of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world that was hit by a severe ice age. Their duty is to effectively manage both its infrastructure and citizens.
- STRATEGY BOARD GAME: Make the Laws, send out expeditions to uncover the fate of humanity in the frozen wastes, face the consequences of your actions in front of those you swore to protect.
- MULTIPLE PATHS TO VICTORY: The players will decide the fate of their people. Will you treat them like another resource? Are you going to be an inspiring builder, a fearless explorer, or a bright scientist? Is your rule going to be a sting of tyranny or an era of law and equality?
- HIGHLY VARIABLE: The core gameplay is brutal, challenging, and complex, but easy to learn. The citizens won’t just be speechless pieces on the board. Society members will issue demands and react accordingly to the current mood, so every decision and action bears consequences.
- NUMBER OF PLAYERS AND AVERAGE PLAYTIME: This board game is designed for 1 to 4 players and is suitable for ages 16 and older. Average playtime is approximately 120-150 minutes.
Discontent
Discontent is a separate measure of pressure among residents. Laws can raise or lower it, including laws dealing with work, food, and Purpose. A rise in Hope does not automatically lower Discontent, and reducing Discontent does not necessarily restore Hope. Check both indicators after a decision.
How to compare laws before signing
There is no universally best law independent of the city’s situation. Compare the trade-off across the immediate crisis and the consequences that follow:
Rank #2
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION TO FROST PUNK THE BOARD GAME. This is not a standalone game. You will need the Frost Punk Base Game in order to play with this expansion.
- POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVAL GAME: In Frostpunk, players will take on the role of leaders of a small colony of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world that was hit by a severe ice age. Their duty is to effectively manage both its infrastructure and citizens.
- STRATEGY BOARD GAME: Make the Laws, send out expeditions to uncover the fate of humanity in the frozen wastes, face the consequences of your actions in front of those you swore to protect.
- MINIATURES EXPANSION: Upgrade the components in Frostpunk with this miniature expansion, which includes 120 plastic miniatures in 41 different sculpts, bringing the ultimate look of Frostpunk's last city of Earth to the tabletop. This expansion is purely of aesthetic nature and does not in any way influence the mechanics of the game.
- NUMBER OF PLAYERS AND AVERAGE PLAYTIME: This board game is designed for 1 to 4 players and is suitable for ages 16 and older. Average playtime is approximately 120-150 minutes.
- Practical effect: What problem does the law solve, and what does it change about resources, work hours, or capacity?
- Mood effects: Does it change Hope or Discontent immediately, over time, or only when an ability is used?
- Commitment: Does it unlock a building or ability, and does it create a promise that must be fulfilled?
- Future choices: Does it exclude another law or move the city toward Faith or Order?
- Political direction: What does continuing down that branch mean for the city beyond the immediate meter change?
For specific laws, read the in-game description and check the meters after signing. The detailed examples below come from a community-maintained guide, not an official developer reference; verify version-dependent effects in the edition you are playing. See the guide’s law mechanics for its account of individual laws.
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Examples of trade-offs
- Extended Shift allows workplaces to run a longer schedule, at a cost to Discontent.
- Child Shelters, chosen instead of child labor, can provide a permanent Hope modifier once all children have a place in shelters.
- Soup produces more rations from the same raw food than standard meals, but the community guide records a slight Hope decrease and Discontent increase.
- Pledge of Loyalty on the Order path is recorded by the guide as slightly increasing Discontent while providing a persistent Hope benefit.
Faith and Order: more than mood management
Purpose laws divide into mutually exclusive Faith and Order branches. Each offers its own buildings and abilities for addressing the city’s needs and mood. At the endpoint, New Faith or New Order replaces Hope’s usual role with Devotion or Obedience. These laws mark a consequential political direction, not simply another upgrade for adjusting a meter.
Rank #3
- THIS IS AN EXPANSION TO FROST PUNK THE BOARD GAME. This is not a standalone game. You will need the Frost Punk Base Game in order to play with this expansion.
- POST-APOCALYPTIC SURVIVAL GAME: In Frostpunk, players will take on the role of leaders of a small colony of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world that was hit by a severe ice age. Their duty is to effectively manage both its infrastructure and citizens.
- STRATEGY BOARD GAME: Make the Laws, send out expeditions to uncover the fate of humanity in the frozen wastes, face the consequences of your actions in front of those you swore to protect.
- DREADNOUGHT EXPANSION: A deluxe upgrade to one of Frostpunk's most challenging scenarios, this expansion contains 1 plastic Giant Dreadnaught miniature that can be used to immerse yourself deeper into the game. This expansion is purely of aesthetic nature and does not in any way influence the mechanics of the game.
- NUMBER OF PLAYERS AND AVERAGE PLAYTIME: This board game is designed for 1 to 4 players and is suitable for ages 16 and older. Average playtime is approximately 120-150 minutes.
The community wiki lists Pledge of Loyalty as one route toward New Order, with a 36-hour signing cooldown for Pledge of Loyalty and a 72-hour cooldown for New Order. Those are reported in-game values from the wiki, whose publication year is not stated; check them against your game version rather than treating them as universal across editions.
Quick Recap
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- CATCH THE CHAMELEON: A bluffing board game where players must race to catch the chameleon before It's too late
- ONE SECRET WORD: In this board game for adults and family everyone knows the secret word - except for the player with the chameleon card
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- MULTI-AWARD WINNING: "Best Party Game" At UK games expo. "Seal of excellence" From dice tower games. A perfect board game for adults and teenagers
What to do when Hope is low or Discontent is high
- Identify the immediate pressure. Check whether Hope, Discontent, or both are creating the risk; they are distinct measures.
- Review available laws and their full costs. Consider whether the practical benefit addresses the current problem and what it does to each meter.
- Check unlocks and promises. Make sure you can follow through on a building commitment before signing the law that creates it.
- Consider the branch consequence. Purpose choices can foreclose the other political route, so do not assess them only by their immediate mood effect.
- Recheck after the decision. Buildings and events can also affect Hope, so monitor the indicators rather than assuming one law has resolved the city’s broader situation.
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