just talkin'...
A Game of Chance?
Never Mind the
Billhooks, as the author Andy Callan himself declares, is a fun game of toy
soldiers and is not in any way an attempt to simulate actual historical
warfare.
Andy also says “Forget
plans! Never mind the Tactics! Rolling high and drawing the best cards is the
only way to win at Billhooks”. And of course he is right! However, it is worth taking a moment to consider
the composition of your force and the strengths and weaknesses of the various
units in Billhooks and how they may be best deployed. Having played some forty games and participated in all three BASHes here are my thoughts.
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| Front Rank minis- a delight to paint |
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| Double de bows is double de arrers! |
Double
Bows? Archer blocks, in line, can be deadly, loosing an arrow-storm
of 48 dice, but they are vulnerable to being charged, so attach a leader to
them that they may choose to evade away from charges
Overall- loose your arrowstorms as regularly and opportunistically as you can. The micro dice tracking a unit’s arrow supply rarely runs out before they get bogged down in melee, are evading trouble, or otherwise engaged in activities that stop them pulling some bowstrings.
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| Bristol boys! De Bare and Mead-land pirates! |
Murder Machine“These monsters of mayhem, these mothers of murder, these masters of melee” without doubt Men at Arms are the most reliable, effective slaughter machine on the field. These are often game winners, particularly if led by a hero. TIP- shield them with bows or skirmishers from enemy arrow-storms and get them into combat undamaged by the most direct route you can.
Overall: Heroes on the battlefield, use these armoured
men boldly and count on them to be about the most reliable unit at your
disposal. If you’re going to build a plan around any unit, make it the
Men-at-Arms!
TIP -Try to "get the drop " on your opponents by charging them before they charge you and benefit from rerolling any 1's in your first round of melee.
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| Picture courtesy of Mark Taylor |
Don’t tell ‘em your name… Pikes are the nearest thing to an OP unit in Nevermind. They cost the same as Bills but can count four ranks in melee. At BASH 3 Ian Callan’s pike men went on a spree in each of his battles, cutting a path to the enemy’s baseline and returning by the same route on two occasions. He did not think it too many.
TIP counter
pike blocks with skirmishers and archers as at the third battle of BASH, the
Yorkist archers and skirmisher shot great blizzards of arrows into the ranks of
pike men and then charged them with an intact company of Men at Arms
TIP always
charge pikes with Men at Arms, if melee is inevitable, to gain the advantage of
rerolling 1’s, and the extra protection in saving rolls from the Men at Arms
heavy armour should carry the day.
Deluxe gives us the mighty pike blocks of the Swiss, fast
moving, hard hitting and fearless! They suffer an extra hit from each shot from
a Great Gonne and have low saving throws so shoot them with your cannon, and
your archers and use skirmishers to harry their flanks.
Deluxe introduces the Herce formation, a combined unit of longbowmen and spears, used by English Armies and Free Companies. The archers in this unit can shoot twice in response to being charged., effectively reproducing the arrow storms of Crecy and Agincourt.
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Billhooks is a surprisingly subtle game in some aspects. The balance between the different types of units is pretty near perfect. There is a kind of rock, paper, scissors element to the game. For example, artillery are notoriously “swingy”, very often achieving nothing or blowing themselves up, however, they can knock great holes in your Men at Arms as found out at the battle of Bristol Independent Gaming, 3rd March 2021 when the opening shot of the battle killed five of them. Artillery are themselves vulnerable to attack from Light Cavalry or skirmishers. TIP: wait for your opponent to set up his artillery before you deploy your M@A and place them anywhere but opposite them.
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| Picture courtesy of Mark Taylor |
Artillery has one weakness tho, apart from spontaneous self-inflicted explosion of course, in that they have to return fire at any unit shooting at them. Artillery can only roll half their dice at skirmishers so one tactic to nullify your opponent’s artillery is to send a band of skirmishers to harass them. This tactic also has its risks as the skirmishers will be exposed to shooting from archer units, however, if your opponent places his artillery in an exposed position, unsupported by archers, as at the first Battle of BASH, Peters v Harris, where skirmishers were able to harass the artillery crew to death!
TIP, if possible, negate artillery by skirmishing
them with skirmishers
Artillery has another prime function due to their long range, they can stop the manoeuvre phase and put an end to any scouting light horse looking to flank your position. TIP don’t plan for a long manoeuvre phase if your opponent is equipped with a Great Gonne
Skirmishers,
a Forlorn Hope?
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| Swiss mercenary Harqubusiers-with Pavise |
Skirmishers are a bit
of an historical anomaly, at least in there is no documented evidence of their
existence in the Wars of the Roses yet bands of mercenaries bearing bows,
crossbows and hand guns are known to have been employed universally during this
period and not en masse in formed units, so they are at the very least an
historical possibility.
In game terms skirmishers are never going to be a game
winner. They are frail compared to other troop types and are often wiped out by
a couple of arrow-storms. They are vulnerable to being charged by light cavalry
and will rarely survive a moral test. However, they can be a nuisance and can
keep your opponent under pressure with a steady flow of casualties. As
mentioned, they can nullify artillery TIP use your skirmishers on the
flanks of your opponent’s units outside of the targets 45 degree frontal arc where he is unable to shoot
back
Deluxe introduces some new armies where skirmishers have a bigger presence, notably the Portuguese who also use mounted skirmisher bands. It’s hard to predict how they will perform on the tabletop but I suspect light cavalry will be the antidote to their hit and run antics
TIP Skirmisher carrying crossbows and hand guns cost
the same points as those armed with bows and have the added advantage of
reducing the saving throws of Men at Arms for no extra points! Say no more
squire!
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| 15th C knight, Very heavy armour, no flowing Caparison |
The Knights Tale Knights are an expensive rarity, however, legend has it that they have a powerful, unstoppable charge which if used correctly can destroy enemy units in one swift round of melee. I have never witnessed their use and the accounts, nay say rumours, that I have heard tell only of their inevitable defeat. They can be a great liability as their high status means that all units within 12" will have to test morale if they break.
However, with Deluxe covering the hundred years war and
other knight-heavy periods and with rules for double blocks the knight will
certainly be a force to be reckoned with in future games
A scurrer by any other name
Light cavalry is a horse of a different colour however. Whether
they are scurrers, prickers, jinetes, ginetes, Besteiros de Garrucha, Stradiots
or just light horse they are all swift and manoeuvrable and can turn on a
groat, they can disrupt your opponent’s plans by their mere presence behind his
lines or by threatening his flanks or the vulnerable Great Gonnes. How to
counter them? Turn to face or ignore them and risk a charge? A single charge
even into an enemy’s rear is unlikely to result in victory but their ability to
“bounce” off their target can lead to a series of consecutive charges that may
eventually bring success.
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| The"Plump" Yorkist Prickers deliverd a killer charge at Tewkesbury |
TIP light cavalry can be invaluable, indispensable
even, if your opponent fields them, however, they will not win the battle and
might cause you to lose it. They are definitely best used as an independent
command, under the leadership of a dolt if you have one, as far from your
battle lines as they can reach
TIP light cavalry are vulnerable to missiles, they
have a lower saving throw from missiles than they do in melee so shoot them whenever
you’re able. Like skirmishers they are a small unit and only require four
casualties to take a morale test and, like skirmishers, they only roll one dice
to test morale and will fail half the time.
Kern Up the Volume
I have nothing to say of Kerns as I have not had any
experience of employing or facing them. “Shoot them full of arrows” would seem
a wise historical precedent to follow. However, Steve Woods of Arcane Scenery
has used them often and says “Do not underestimate the power of Kern
skirmishers! I always take a band. They can move quickly and so can out flank
the enemy and if available, skulk in cover out of harm’s way until they are
ready to pounce. They throw 6 dice in hand-to-hand combat and save on a 5 and
6. (they only save on a 6 against archery). This gives them an advantage
against other skirmishers who only throw 3 dice in combat. As they are as fast
as other skirmishers, they can usually catch them if they attempt to evade.
Their shooting is poor, with a range of only 6 inches but if they are behind an
enemy unit, they are a damned nuisance! If they can charge a flank from cover
or within one move, the enemy unit cannot turn and face and so a mixed block of
bill and archers will be fighting with 3 dice against 6! If the dice Goddess is
kind, you can win the combat and force a morale check. They are fragile though
and tend to be a one shot unit as they will pursue a routing unit (even if it runs
off the table) and if they bounce in combat will become disarrayed.”
Be Lucky!
Billhooks is a wickedly capricious, fun game where no two
battles are the same. When you win you can take the credit for your excellent
generalship, when you lose, you can blame your bad luck.
General TIP 1 be aggressive! The game
rewards he who attacks, archery has its place but is unlikely to win many
battles and Bow units caught in melee inevitably come off worse. The rerolling
of “1’s” in attack can make a huge difference.
TIP 2- Use your Leaders attached to units in melee,
the automatic hits they generate are game winners in later rounds when
companies are disarrayed.
TIP 3- Do not camp in your deployment area. If your
units are daunted, they will rout from the table and cost you dear
TOP TIP always use your lucky dice and issue a silent
prayer to the Goddess before EVERY roll.
Deluxe brings new armies and many surprises. The scenarios
add a whole new dimension to the game. The Reivers look like pure fun, Helvetia
is very colourful if somewhat frightening, the Irish give me an excuse to get
those Antediluvian Gallowglasses that I crave and I have no idea how to deal
with a Hussite army but I can’t wait to find out!
