by Forget classic medieval fantasy and flashy post-apocalyptic spectacle. 1490 DOOM places us right in the heart of an apocalypse already underway. Not the spectacular end of the world brought by a demonic invasion, but a dull, suffocating one: a world slowly dying, rotting away. In contrast to this slow extinction, games are frantic, brutal, and tense. Every fighter struggles with the energy of desperation. You climb, you shove, you fall, you claw out a few moments of respite.
Introduction
The top of the ruined tower was rapidly receding, shooting up toward the grey sky. A moment earlier, the raider had felt the worn wood of a crate under his fingers, perhaps containing a little food. Enough to survive one more day. But he had been grabbed and thrown over the parapet, like someone disposing of a foul-smelling piece of trash. He would not survive. Not this time. Below, dead earth as hard as stone was pulling him in. His protective mask had cracked during the desperate struggle to reach the top. The deadly mist that covered the world would soon swallow him too. Even if the fall did not kill him, the Creeping Death would finish the job in a matter of minutes. The raider closed his eyes, a mocking grin on his lips. “So this is how it ends.”
Overview of 1490 Doom
1490 DOOM is a grimdark medieval skirmish game in which small bands of survivors fight to gain height above a deadly fog, “the Creeping Death”. The game puts each player in charge of a Doom Company of 3 warriors, in a dying alternate Europe. The rules are simple and few in number, prioritizing fast play and atmosphere.
In 1490 Doom, the setting and the rules go hand in hand. Life in this dying world has been reduced to a struggle for survival with the few resources still available. Likewise, the rules are almost stripped down to their barest form, even though with only 3 miniatures per side one might have expected a high level of detail. Everything is fast, decisive, and brutal.
Although the publisher (Buer Games) offers 3D models for the characters, the game is miniature-agnostic. Any miniatures are therefore acceptable as long as they make sense. In general, you will be using 28–32mm models on 25–30mm round bases, as in most skirmish games. More unusually, the game board is circular with a diameter of 60cm (~2 feet). But it is easy to convert a larger table by using a few terrain pieces, with the boundary then set 30cm from the center.
Terrain plays a crucial role in the game. The highest element has strategic importance and is preferably placed at the center of the board. A significant part of the rules deals with climbing and falling. In most scenarios, ending higher than your opponent scores victory points.
How does it play?
A game is played over 7 rounds with alternating activations. Each of your 3 warriors may perform 2 actions each round. And those actions must be different. 6 actions per round goes by very quickly. A game sometimes lasts only half an hour. Fortunately, it is also quick to set up: place the terrain, choose 3 different archetypes, assign 3 upgrades — equipment or characteristic bonuses — and the game begins!
The objective
Your goal is to score more points than your opponent by the end of the game. To do so, you have three options: have more miniatures furthest from ground level, which counts for 50% of the game’s points; open more resource caches than your opponent — there are 3, placed during deployment; and have the most miniatures in play at the end. Vertical terrain is therefore essential to play, and it needs at least 2 or 3 levels. A few scenarios and options add special rules, but the core remains the same.
Setting up the game
Before the first round, players place the resource caches. These contain a random consumable item drawn when the cache is opened. In addition to contributing to victory, they therefore allow you to boost your Doom Company. Then the warriors are placed alternately around the board, ready to enter, at least 5 inches away from any other miniature. Once both players have placed their entire company, the first round begins.
Your warriors
Miniature profiles are simple and intuitive. There are only 6 characteristics: 3 attributes — movement distance, number of attacks, and vitality — and 3 dice rolls — Skill, Combat, and Defense. There is also always an equipment restriction depending on the archetype.
You immediately understand the archetype’s role on the table. The most combat-oriented profiles are generally those with the lowest Skill… which is used for, well, everything else! Overall, you therefore end up with mobile and utility miniatures on one side, which will climb, place ladders, and open caches. On the other side, you have the fighters, who are there to deal with the opposing company’s miniatures.
The real distinctive features of the archetypes, where your warriors truly become different, are found in the special rules. Each warrior has two or three. A free move at the start of the game, making a devastating charge, placing a trap, pinning an opponent in place for a round, or even getting your fallen warriors back up. The most powerful abilities can only be used once per game, but played at the right moment they can turn the course of the game around!
What makes 1490 Doom unique
The first thing you notice about this game is its scale: a board that fits on a coffee table and 6 miniatures on the table. If it did not have such a need for terrain, it would earn the title of travel wargame — and honestly, if your terrain packs away neatly… Terrain, precisely, is essential for the game to be fun and, frankly, for the experience to be interesting at all. In the few pages of rules and the roughly twenty possible actions, half deal with interacting with terrain. You need to be able to climb, open doors and caches, push enemies from the top of walls, jump over gaps, place ladders and grappling hooks… 1490 Doom is above all a race. A race to the summit, a race to the caches, and sometimes a race to be the last survivor.
The game’s mechanics mirror its setting. Simple, brutal, and merciless. The best example is probably the breach rule. The game has the principle of Piercing Blow, where rolling a 6 on a Combat roll always hits — the target makes no Defense roll. But in addition, from the first Piercing Blow suffered, the unfortunate miniature suffers a breach. Thematically, its protective equipment against the Creeping Death is cracked and it is no longer protected from toxic fumes and miasmas, condemned to slowly suffocate. In rules terms, it must succeed on a Skill roll each round or lose 1 vitality — hit point. I can tell you that the Brute, a true monster in melee, has a very bad time with its Skill at 5+!
The game fully embraces its status as a small, fast skirmish game. It even states it clearly in its presentation and rules. Short games that are quick to set up and play — even when discovering the game, we only took 1 hour the first time — simple rules where luck also plays a role, profiles that are not entirely balanced, and a very strong theme. It is the wargame version of an atmosphere game.
An ecosystem around the game
1490 Doom is not just the skirmish game. The core book offers a campaign with linked scenarios, meaning a series of games with your Doom Company. And to keep adding variety, a set of optional advanced rules is offered: environmental conditions, siege weapons, Marks — a special rule chosen for the whole company — etc. A nice option for introducing the game to friends: use only one miniature of each archetype and each player recruits one warrior at a time.
More immersive still, two supplements offer scripted campaigns playable solo or cooperatively. You play archetypes created for the campaign. As a nice bonus, they are officially playable in standard games, with a small adjustment for one of them.
To dive even deeper into this universe, there is an official soundtrack available on YouTube and Spotify. There is also a podcast and audio stories following the heroes of the supplements… All of this helps set the mood during your games, or simply lets you enjoy the universe without playing it. At this level of immersion, drowning is not far off!
Finally, Buer Games sells 3D files for the miniatures and modular castle terrain on its website. If you have the option to 3D print them — or have them printed — they are worth a look.
Strengths…
1490 Doom has a very distinctive identity, and great potential for fans of kitbashing and terrain building. With only 3 warriors and around ten terrain pieces, preparing a company and a table does not require a major investment and allows for a great deal of freedom.
The rules are accessible and well presented. And above all, games are fast, fun, and eventful. Even at the beginning, it is entirely possible to play 2 or 3 games in one evening. The tension is often there until the end. Most of my games were only decided on the final round, or even the final dice roll!
…and limitations
The rules are very simple, and that affects the game’s tactical depth. While not nonexistent, it remains modest. Especially since such simplicity comes at the expense of refined balance. It remains perfectly playable, no profile truly breaks the game, but some have a slight edge over the others. In addition, the game requires terrain with different height levels, not just one or two pieces. This requirement for suitable terrain implies a certain investment for new players. And even seasoned veterans will not necessarily have what they need to build a table that lets the game reach its full potential.
The game has a central concept and an omnipresent theme. But those are the only real strengths of the gameplay. The question is whether that will be enough for the game to survive. Otherwise, just like the apocalyptic world it depicts, it will die slowly but surely.
Who is this game for?
With its kitbashing possibilities and the theme for the miniatures and terrain, collectors and hobbyists will certainly be drawn in. Especially those who enjoy playing with their creations without having to spend days understanding and mastering rules.
Those who favor narrative, as well as solo and cooperative players, will certainly find this game enjoyable. Between the narrative campaigns and the ecosystem surrounding the game, you are pulled into it. Especially since the ascent of the miniatures and the rising tension over the course of the game fit the theme perfectly. Fans of medieval grimdark will appreciate it.
Fans of pure competition, however, will be left wanting more. The same goes for those who like to carefully build their list. And it is clear that if you enjoy robust rulesets, rich in options and effective counters, you will move on.
Join Conclusion
1490 Doom should be appreciated for what it is: an atmosphere game above all. The kind of game you play on the living room table over drinks or during a lunch break. It is a very good candidate for introducing people to miniature gaming, provided suitable terrain is available.
I would not be surprised to see small one-day tournaments at conventions, but I cannot imagine a “serious” tournament for this game being organized. Or if there were one, it would be the kind of tournament where the organizers create special terrain rules and homebrew scenarios. If you like that kind of event, I think you will also like 1490 Doom.
Written by :
Wep'tak, the systems polymath & rules enthusiast
I primarily enjoy discovering new games and experimenting with original rule systems. I dabble in everything, from historical wargames to fictional universes, driven by curiosity and the desire to explore. Yet, there are titles I always return to with pleasure: Infinity, One Page Rules, Fireball Forward, Blücher, 5 Leagues from the Borderlands, and 5 Parsecs from Home.
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