It is spring 1812. The armies of Napoleonic France are masters of continental Europe. However, there is a festering sore in Spain where despite seemingly overwhelming odds valiant Spanish soldiers and guerrillas with their British allies persevere in fierce defiance of Napoleon's plans and armies. Even as their emperor prepares his epic invasion of Russia, Napoleon's marshals gather forces for a final campaign. One man stands between them and the conquest of the Spanish Peninsula: an English general called Sir Arthur Wellesley, better known to history as the Duke of Wellington.

In adapting his multi-award-winning The Napoleonic Wars game system, Mark G. McLaughlin creates a furiously paced, card-driven, and battle/siege-intensive strategic/operational game of Wellington's campaign to drive the French from Spain and invade France itself. Wellington is a game easily played to conclusion by two, three, or four players in an evening or an afternoon.