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?
Cannon smoke drifts heavily across your bow, obscuring your view of the battle strewn across the seascape. Several ships are locked in a fight for naval supremacy.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Variable Player Powers
Each player has different abilities, restrictions, or strategic advantages.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Player Elimination
Players can be removed from contention before the game ends.
Team-Based Game
Players compete in fixed teams and coordinate toward a shared team result.
Read the full game description
Cannon smoke drifts heavily across your bow, obscuring your view of the battle strewn across the seascape. Several ships are locked in a fight for naval supremacy. Sailors climb the rigging as you command your pilot to steer windward, taking the weather gage on the closest ship- gaining superior position. As your gunners open fire with cannon, you call out to your marines to prepare for boarding! Scalawag! is a competitive card game for 3-8 players. Each player is the captain of their own warship with the goal of eliminating all other players (or teams during Allegiance Play). Game play consists of a player issuing one Captain’s Order each turn, generally allowing them to either gather additional Compass Points (the game currency) or spend Compass Points to attack their opponents. Players support their Captain’s Orders by declaring Crew. As a player’s Crew Cards are kept hidden from others and bluffing is allowed, knowing when to bluff and when to call a bluff (by calling out Scalawag!) is an important element to successful play.