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

Never Mind the Billhooks Game One

 

View from the Yorkist side

Lancastrian side

Lancastrian left flank

Lancastrian right flank

Lancastrian centre

Yorkist right flank and centre

Yorkist centre

Last Tuesday afternoon Craig and Garry came over to my place and we played our first game of Never Mind the Billhooks, the new War of the Roses rules by Andy Callan, which is available as part of Wargames Illustrated September 2020 Issue Number 393. Rick was unable to make it but kindly lent us most of the figures for the game. Craig and Garry were the Lancastrian commanders and I was the sole Yorkist commander. Both sides had 124 points, three commanders and very similar forces the only difference being, two units of light horse on the Lancastrian side and a single unit of knights for the Yorkists. 

An initial manoeuvre phase ends with hostilities (shooting or combat) and the regular game turn is card driven with a play deck, bonus deck and special event deck. Commanders issue orders to units who can then make up to two actions. Shooting and combat is decided with dice rolls for hits and saves. Some of our infantry units were the standard twelve figures, in two ranks of six and others were eight figures, in two ranks of four and we used casualty markers. The cavalry were on 50mm by 80mm bases so we used these in two ranks of four as the frontage was the same as the standard single rank of eight cavalry figures.

It proved to be a lot of fun with the randomness of the card draw making it important to make the best use of orders and actions for individual units in a turn. The Yorkist knights destroyed the Lancastrian light horse but then retreated themselves in disarray from some Lancastrian foot and were wiped out by shooting. In the centre there was an archery duel before a decisive charge by the Lancastrian foot men-at-arms saw their Yorkist opponents rout with their Commander-in-Chief. We forgot to do the leaders duel in this combat but the game was all over!

Yorkist left flank

Yorkist knights charge and Lancastrian light horse countercharge

Lancastrian light horse are destroyed

Yorkist knights retreat in disarray

Yorkist knights are destroyed, the centre advances

Rhys Ap Thomas' Foot Men-at-Arms charge the Yorkists

Yorkist Men-at-Arms and Commander-in-Chief rout