War of the Roses - Saga Age of Chivalry Game

 

Yorkists left and Lancastrians right deployed

Opposite end

Lancastrian longbowmen and commander

Lancastrian longbowmen retreat 

Handgunners take heavy shooting casualties on the right

Last Thursday afternoon Craig came over and we played a War of the Roses Saga game, with the new Saga supplement, Age of Chivalry. I was the Yorkist defenders and Craig the Lancastrian attackers, with six points a side and the usual Clash of Warlords scenario. I don't play Saga that often, my last game was about two years ago with the Age of Alexander supplement but Craig plays a fair bit and knows the rules well. I had a lucky start with a unit of men-at-arms (hearthguard) and was able to use the Remounts and Ravage and Pillage activations on my battle board to nearly wipe out a unit of Lancastrian longbowmen (levies).

The Lancastrians responded with some devastating shooting to reduce my mercenary handgunners (warriors) to half strength. The game from there was tit for tat, my Warlord was eventually killed, but both sides were reduced to two units generating Saga dice and neither side could gain the upper hand. In the end we called it a draw. It was fun to get the War of the Roses troops out and try out the new Saga Age of Chivalry rules. It's a very attractive supplement and with fourteen new battle boards has plenty to offer the Medieval Saga enthusiast.

Lancastrian longbowmen suffer

Lancastrian longbowmen retreat
repeatedly from Yorkist billmen

Lancastrian longbowmen survive another turn

Yorkist longbowmen survive another turn

First Game of Ruckus

 

Retinues advance onto the table

Retinues close, archers shoot

In the May 2024 (issue No 247) of Wargames Illustrated there is a 32 page, free set of Medieval skirmish rules, Never Mind the Billhooks Here's the Ruckus by Mike Peters. I ordered it at great expense for the postage down under. I thought they sounded like a lot of fun, a War of the Roses skirmish game with only twelve figures a side. After reading the rules, downloading, printing then gluing all the cards, tokens and sheets I was ready to  try a solo game. 

Quite a time consuming part of the game is the set up of retinues which is done with a pack of playing cards with the four suits reflecting different skills and traits. You need a retinue sheet for each side. I scribbled one out but didn't worry too much about the skills and traits just using the standard retainer examples. Each side has three heroes, a captain with two squires who command retainers, usually bowmen or billmen. The game uses card activation with three card decks, the Hero Deck, Cunning Plan Deck and Divers Alarums Deck, as well as D6s for shooting, combat and morale.

I played the introductory scenario on page thirty with each hero and their retainers activated when their card was drawn, moving onto the table. In my game there were quite a few misfires (roll of 1) for both sides in the shooting, obviously no veteran archers available! Once they charged in to combat it was all over fairly quickly. A retinue reduced to half strength has to pass a Will to Fight test (7+ on two D6) which they duly failed. Overall it was a fun, quick game, and I'm keen to try it again. A retinue spreadsheet would definitely make it easier to keep track of everything.

A squire with billmen charges
the opposing hero and retainers

Retinue is down to half strength
and loses the will to fight!

Skirmish Before Stoke Field - Billhooks Deluxe Game

 

Yorkists deployed on the northern edge of the table

Royalists on the southern edge

German skirmishers head for the woods

German pike reinforcements arrive

Light horse on the Royalists' left flank

On Thursday afternoon Rick and Garry came over and we played a Billhooks Deluxe game out in the shed. The scenario by Andy Callan was in an old issue of Wargames Illustrated and involved a preliminary skirmish before Stoke Field with small Royalist and Yorkist scouting forces advancing down Fosse Way and attempting to gain an advantage. Both sides received 24 points of reinforcements some time after turn two and started the game with 90 point of troops and three commanders a side. Garry and I were the Yorkists and Rick commanded the Royalists. We were all pretty rusty with the rules, as we haven’t played for a while.

The scenario was played on the long table edges from north to south, so the manoeuvre phase of the game lasted quite a long time before the forces came within firing range of each other. A unit of Kern skirmishers were wiped out by bow fire and the Galloglass charged in the centre before they suffered the same fate. Three rounds of combat later they retired in disarray. While reinforcements for both sides arrived on the table, they failed to have an impact. We ran out of time, the game was a draw, the Royalists had the best of it to that point.

Yorkist Kern, Galloglass, bowmen and
billmen advance down Fosse Way

Royalist light horse reinforcements arrive

Shooting commences

Galloglass charge in the centre

Casualties mount

Galloglass retreat in disarray

Billhooks Deluxe Game Four

 

Yorkists deployed on the left,
Lancastrians on the right

Opposite end

Yorkists advance

Last Thursday afternoon Craig came over and we played a 130 point Billhooks Deluxe, War of the Roses game out in the shed. Craig commanded the Lancastrians and I had the Yorkists. This was a practice game as Craig is playing in the Billhooks Italia and Albion comp at BelCon which will be held at the Raiders Club in Kippax over the weekend of 21-22 October 2023. This BelCon has a number of other events/comps, including 15mm MeG and 28mm Black Powder and Bolt Action. Tickets for entry to the events can be purchased on the Olympian Games website.

Craig tried some archers with stakes in his force while I had more men-at-arms, billmen and skirmishers. As the attacker I tried to advance as quickly as possible before losing casualties to the inevitable arrow storm. My men-at arms on the left flank charged the Lancastrian billmen, after two rounds of combat the billmen retreated daunted with both commanders wounded and reduced to dolt/single command level. My men-at arms were wiped out but the supporting billmen were still in tact. In the centre my other unit of men-at-arms charged his billmen and his Commander in Chief was killed in a duel with mine. End of a fun, if chaotic game!

Skirmishers and artillery fire

Lancastrian archers double shoot 

Yorkist men-at-arms charge Lancastrian billmen

Lancastrian Commander-in-Chief is killed in a duel

Skirmish at the Crossroads - War of the Roses Billhooks Deluxe Game

 

Yorkists (foreground) and Lancastrians deployed

Skirmishers are the early casualties

Handgunners evade depleted Kerns

Skirmishers evade and archers shoot

Lancastrian archers advance within short range

Last Wednesday night I went over to Rick's place for a War of the Roses Billhooks Deluxe game. It was  a small game of 120 points, to introduce Gary to the rules, and was fought at a crossroads. Rick and Gary commanded the Lancastrians and I had the Yorkists. The forces were similar, the main difference being, a unit of pike on the Lancastrian side and veteran bow and billmen on the Yorkist side. We were pretty rusty with the rules as we haven't played for a while but were soon working through the play deck cards and rolling dice. Early casualties were the skirmishers, followed by the usual shooting with the bowmen once in range. A prolonged and bloody combat at the crossroads saw casualties mount on both sides. In the end the Lancastrian centre and left flank collapsed to hand the Yorkists a hard fought victory.

Yorkist men-at-arms attack pikemen

Lancastrian pike rout and men-at-arms attack

Combat is level pegging

A second round of melee

Prolonged and bloody combat

Lancastrian centre and left flank collapses

Never Mind the Billhooks Deluxe Game Two

 

Forces deployed from the Yorkist side

From the Lancastrian side

Forces advance

Early cards and shooting favours the Lancastrians

Lancastrian archers find their mark

Shooting casualties mount

Last Thursday afternoon Craig came over to my place and we played another War of the Roses, Never Mind the Billhooks Deluxe game, out in the shed. Craig commanded the Lancastrians and I had the Yorkists. We both had a 130 points a side with three leaders and wards each. I was keen to use the Irish kerns I'd just painted and had three skirmisher units of these as well as a formed unit from the Hibernia list. Craig had more archer units on his side and the early cards and shooting certainly favoured the Lancastrians. My depleted formed kerns charged into combat with a Lancastrian archer unit in the centre and were promptly routed. 

Every morale crisis test in the game I seemed to roll at least a single 1, if not snake eyes! While this gave a reroll for veteran units for a single 1, it meant my archers and kern on the left flank were soon routing as well. My billmen on the left charged and both billmen units were in disarray and eventually routed. The men-at-arms in the centre fought it out and eventually the Yorkists and their leader were routed after a flank charge. The Lancastrian left flank was in tatters but it was all over. It was a bloody and brutal game, that was surprisingly close at times. It was fun to use the kerns but I think more veteran archers and billmen would have been better value for the points.

Yorkist archers and kerns on the left flank rout

Yorkist billmen on the left flank charge

Both billmen units are in disarray 

Men-at-Arms fight it out in the centre

Lancastrian archers evade Yorkist billmen on the right

Yorkist men-at-arms & leader rout from flank charge