Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Harder to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Deep strategy
How it plays
How does it play?
The third in the Historic Epic Battle System series of games. Relive the legendary Battle of Waterloo!
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
The third in the Historic Epic Battle System series of games. Relive the legendary Battle of Waterloo! 18th June 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte is determined to rise back to power and claim all of Europe as his prize, but is stopped in his tracks by the might of the forces led by an unassuming yet undefeated Arthur Wellesley and his charismatic Prussian ally Blücher. 1815, Scum of the Earth is an asymmetric, competitive, tactical card game, and successor to the award-winning 1066, Tears to Many Mothers (and 1565, St. Elmo's Pay), with which it is fully compatible. Each player, as either the Duke of Wellington or Napoleon, musters troops and resources to overcome the various obstacles in their path before their armies clash in an epic battle over three farms forward of the ridge at Waterloo: Hougoumont, La Haye Sainte, and Papelotte. Every beautiful card in the game is inspired by a real person or event from the time. With a focus on quick, tactical play and a thematic re-imagining of the events of the time, the game is non-collectable, and there is no deck building required. Each player simply grabs their deck and shuffles, then play begins. Note on title: Though not an accurate description of their formidable fighting prowess, Wellington himself referred to his men on more than one occasion as Scum of the Earth. “The French system of conscription brings together a fair sample of all classes; ours is composed of the scum of the earth—the mere scum of the earth. It is only wonderful that we should be able to make so much out of them afterwards.” – ‘Notes of conversations with the Duke of Wellington, 1831-1851’ by Philip Henry, 5th Earl Stanhope —description from the publisher