Swords and Bagpipes




Swords and Bagpipes is a unique mix of strategy and deduction. It’s based on the events of the First Scottish War of Independence and inspired by Braveheart movie.


  • 2-6 players (features different game modes for 2, 3, 4-5, and 5-6 players)
  • 30 minutes average playing time
  • 12+ years old


It's a game of social deduction, tactics and... betrayal! Heroism goes side by side with treachery. The players take on the roles of Scottish clan leaders during the medieval War of Independence.

English forces invade your country. You have to choose: either you support Scotland in the fight for freedom... or you just betray other clans to gain money and power. Yet, be warned: every other clan leader is free to make the same decision!



The rules of Swords and Bagpipes were created with the famous Prisoner’s Dilemma in mind. When you betray others, you become richer. This drives you closer to your personal victory. 

However, if Scotland suffers an ultimate defeat, victory conditions change! The player who betrayed less becomes the winner. As a result, you have to balance on a thin edge of your and other players' interests!




Swords and Bagpipes is a joint project with Rightgames, one of the oldest Russian board game developers operating since 2002.

The game was published internationally through a Kickstarter campaign, and we are really grateful to all the people who had supported us!

Game components

  • Badge of Honour token — 1
  • Stay Home! token — 1
  • Scotland’s Defeats marker — 1
  • Camp sheets — 6
  • Castle sheets — 6
  • Choice tokens — 6 pairs + 2 extra pairs
  • Unit tokens — 63
  • Gold coins — 75
  • King Edward cards — 5 cards
  • English Arms cards — 14 cards
  • Dagger cards — 16 cards
  • Village cards — 9 cards
  • Bagpipe cards — 40 cards
  • Game rules

Dimensions

  • Game box is 28 cm by 19.5 cm by 8.5 cm, or 11" by 8.75" by 2.75"
  • 59 cards — 63x88 mm (standard sleeves)
  • 25 cards — 60x45 mm

Mini-expansions

Swords and Bagpipes is accompanied with two mini-expansions:
  • Know Your Enemy deck
  • Special Dagger deck

Rules and links


ENGLISH RULES (official)

Game rules translations: GERMAN (by Christian Gienger) || FRENCH (by Stéphane Athimon) || SPANISH (by Mauricio Montoya O.) || ITALIAN (by Mirko "Gotcha" Biagi) || PORTUGUESE (by Paulo Ricardo) || POLISH (by Waldemar Bata) || DUTCH (by Wesley Fechter) | RUSSIAN (by Denis Davydov) | JAPANESE (by Kohri Takeda)


WHERE TO PURCHASE: the game is available at the Rightgames online store.


Additional images: