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1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta
2020
Rules assistance for 1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 1–2 players
- 30–40 min
- 14+
- Complexity 2.4/5
For 1 player
Rules assistant for 1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta is a board game released in 2020 for 1–2 players, 30–40 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Tristan Hall and its main mechanics are Hand Management, Solo / Solitaire Game, and Card Play Conflict Resolution.
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About the game
Relive the Greatest Siege in History! A vendetta spanning decades reaches its terrible and bloody crescendo! Suleiman the Magnificent's 30,000 strong armada descends on the 500 beleaguered Knights of St John and the defending people of Malta, with the express purpose of wiping them from existence, and changing the course of European history forever... 1565, St. Elmo's Pay is an asymmetric, competitive, tactical card game, and successor to the award-nominated 1066, Tears to Many Mothers, with which it is fully compatible. Each player, as either Ottoman Turks or Knights of St John, musters troops and resources to overcome the various obstacles in their path before the two armies clash in an epic siege over three fronts on the tiny island of Malta: Birgu, Senglea, and the doomed fortress of Saint Elmo. 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: When, after a relentless show of strength, the small fortress of St. Elmo's finally fell to the Turks they butchered the bodies of the Knights and floated the corpses across the bay to the remaining two forts to deter them from resisting further, lest they suffer the same fate. Instead, the Maltese forces chose to fight with 'the spirit of St. Elmo's'. When they eventually turned the tides against the Turks and chased them away the people of Malta chanted 'St. Elmo's Pay' - an expression they still use today to mean 'no mercy.' —description from the publisher
Categories
Designers
Publishers
- Draco Ideas
- Hall or Nothing Productions
Questions and answers
1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta supports 1–2 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for 1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta is 30–40 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists 1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta has a complexity rating of 2.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta belongs to these categories: Card Game, Wargame, and Renaissance. Its main mechanics are Hand Management, Solo / Solitaire Game, and Card Play Conflict Resolution. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of 1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta are: Tristan Hall. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists 1565: St. Elmo's Pay – The Great Siege of Malta as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.