Castelnuovo 1539 Board Game

Name: Castelnuovo 1539 Board Game
Brand: Draco Ideas
Availability: InStock

DRACAS01 Castelnuovo 1539 Board Game published by Draco Ideas

DRACAS01: Castelnuovo 1539 Board Game is on Pre-Order

Expected 20/04/2026 (liable to change without notice), see our Terms for Pre-Orders.
Orders containing pre-order items are held until all items are available, there is a postage option for most UK Customers to have an order split into 2 deliveries.

Castelnuovo 1539 Board Game is a historical wargame for 2 players set during the siege of the fortress of Castelnuovo.

Summer of 1539. Facing an Ottoman fleet of over 50,000 men and 200 ships, the Spanish garrison of Castelnuovo (modern-day Herceg Novi, Montenegro) refuses to surrender to Admiral Barbarossa, sealing its fate with the legendary phrase: 'Come whenever you wish!' The resulting battle was a brutal siege lasting more than 22 days of fighting, skirmishes, and assaults.

Dive into one of the most epic and dramatic feats of the 16th century with Castelnuovo 1539 – Come Whenever You Wish!, a tactical wargame inspired by the historical Siege of Castelnuovo in 1539, where a small Spanish Tercio faces an overwhelmingly superior Ottoman army.

In this 2-player game, one player takes the role of the Spanish side, defending an outdated fortress with limited resources, aiming to inflict such heavy losses on the enemy that their victory loses strategic value. The other player commands the powerful Ottoman forces, tasked with capturing key bastions without suffering unsustainable casualties.

Key features:

Full asymmetry: each side has different objectives, forces, and playstyles. The Spanish must make every card and movement count, while the Ottomans enjoy numerical superiority but must carefully manage their losses.

Dynamic card-driven system: the card engine drives every turn, creating constant tactical decisions and maintaining tension until the very end.

History on your table: recreate a desperate defense lasting nearly a month of combat, where every decision can change the course of the battle.

High replayability: the combination of cards and maneuvers ensures that no two games are the same.

In this asymmetric strategy card-driven game with constant tension, the map is divided into areas where troops, cannons, walls, bastions, and trenches are deployed. Combat is resolved using dice and a card system that allows players to issue orders, enhance actions, dig trenches, and trigger special events, keeping the game fast-paced and free of downtime between turns.

Cards are the engine of the game: they activate units to move and attack and enable special actions such as the feared encamisadas of the Spanish player. There is no fixed number of turns; the Ottoman player has time to prepare the siege, while Sarmiento's Tercio works tirelessly to disrupt those plans.

The game ends when the Ottoman player captures three fortress objectives or reaches 12 casualties. Players alternate turns and replenish their hands even during the opponent's turn, chaining attacks and counterattacks that narrate the historical progression of the battle.

No. of Players: 2 to

Duration: 60 to 90 minutes

Min. Age: 14

(RRP is £55.99)

Castelnuovo 1539 Board Game on www.gameslore.com