Border Wars Game - Foray with the Elliots and Armstrongs

 

Elliot attackers and Armstrong defenders assemble

Elliots deploy 

Well fed Chillingham cattle, the objective of the foray!

Elliots advance 

Armstrongs respond

Casualties and wounds from shooting and combat 

Last Sunday I met Rick and Gary down at the Vikings Club in Lanyon for a game of Border Wars. It was the monthly Sunday meeting of the Canberra Regional Wargame Group. We used to play here all the time but this was only my second game there since 2020. The scenario was Foray (p.65 of the rules) which involved a raid on an Armstrong bastle with the objective their cattle and sheep. Gary commanded the Elliot family attackers and Rick was the Armstrong defenders. The two sides had 11 figures a side, with a leader, two heroes and eight soldiers, four mounted, seven foot, about 115 points. The Armstrongs only had half of their force with reinforcements hopefully arriving in turn three.

This was Gary and Rick's first game of Border Wars, I was umpire and had only played one game previously but it provided plenty of laughs. Gary often has atrocious luck with his dice and true to form managed to consistently roll ones and twos even with D10s! The game uses dice for activation, combat and shooting, D10s, D8s and D6s as well as markers and cards - Special Actions, Heroic Actions and Special Events. The Armstrongs were comfortably leading through out the game having killed an Elliot hero early on and retrieving most of their stock. In the final turn the Elliots managed to win the game by killing the Armstrong leader and heroes.

 

Cheviot sheep are wrangled away
from the thieving Elliots

Armstrong reinforcements advance

The families fight over the remaining cow

Armstrongs escape with the prize

Elliots win the game in the final turn,
killing the Armstrong leader and heroes

Border Buildings, Civilians and Livestock

 

Civilians and Livestock

Bastle with stairs

Bastle with ladder

Here are some Border buildings, civilians and livestock that I've just finished painting to use in my Border Reivers games. The buildings are by Sarissa Precision and Warbases. I've done a quick and dirty paint job on these but will touch them up, silver the wood and paint individual stonework when I have a bit more time. The civilians, a shepherd and his wife, are by Timeline Miniatures, I have quite a few more of their Border Reiver figures to paint but will have to track them down somewhere in the lead pile! Usually I label everything to keep track but have been reorganising it all in to plastic crates. The livestock are by Flags of War and are Cheviot sheep and Chillingham cattle.

First Game of Border Wars - Reiving by the Big Rock

 

Elliots on foot and mounted Armstrongs advance

Elliots fire their pistols

Armstrongs charge in to combat

Last night we played our first game of Border Wars out in the shed. It was a 70 point game with an all foot force of Elliots taking on all mounted force of Armstrongs settling the score (Scenario 1 - To the Death p.64.) by the Big Rock. The families advanced eager to get stuck in. Shooting saw both leaders wounded but undeterred the Armtrongs charged in to combat. This didn't go well and in subsequent turns, all of the Armstrong soldiers were killed, while only a single Elliot soldier was dispatched. A Jeddart Staff armed Elliot soldier cut down an Armstrong hero, leaving the Armstrong leader, wounded and alone, facing surrender or a valiant death.


It was a pretty quick game, about an hour, twenty minutes in playing time. Inevitably as a first game we missed a few things and got a few things wrong. Border Wars is quite a detailed set of skirmish rules with lots of dice activation D10s, D8s and D6s as well as cards - Special Actions, Heroic Actions and Special Events. The families are divided in to three levels - Leader, Hero and Soldiers with individual card profiles and stats which are modified as the game progresses with tokens. There are also skilled characters, civilians and livestock - the object of all the reiving. Quite a bit to absorb and ponder but hopefully another game next week will make it all a bit clearer.

It doesn't go well!

Armstrong hero is cut down by
a Jeddart Staff armed Elliot soldier

Armstrong leader faces surrender or a valiant death 

Border Reivers on Foot

 

Flags of War

Colonel Bills and Wargames Atlantic

Here are some Border Reivers on foot that I've just finished painting. Figures are a mix of Flags of War, Colonel Bills and Wargames Atlantic plastic Conquistadors. I now have enough mounted and foot figures to try out a game of Border Wars, the Flag of Wars' skirmish rules. I still have plenty of Reivers, civilians and stock to paint for this period with more of the superb Flags of War models, as well as the Timeline Miniatures ones.

Group shot

Border Reivers

 

Here are some mounted Border Reivers that I've just finished painting. Five are by Flags of War and three by Colonel Bills (the big chunkier figures). Flags of War have just released more Border Reiver figures through a Kickstarter, their entire Border Wars range are fantastic detailed figures. I will use these for their Border Wars skirmish rules as well as Never Mind the Billhooks Deluxe.