Never Mind The Billhooks- A Review and an Irish Addendum

Never Mind The Billhooks (NMTBH) by Andy Callan is a stand alone rule set for the Wars of the Roses.  Andy has a long pedigree in producing interesting period gaming rules.  These include Dark Age Infantry Slog and Loose Files and American Scabbles for the AWI/Revolutionary War. 

Wargames Illustrated September 2020 issue 393 included a free copy of NMTBH which is why I bought it.  No doubt others did too.  A shrewd bit of marketing there.

NMTBH includes everything you need to play bar the D6 dice and the toys.  So, what do you get?  You get the full colour illustrated rule book and cards and tokens ditto.  The latter are both very nicely done. 

Now, the paper is flimsy and you will need to mount or protect your cards and tokens to ensure longevity.  My tokens got glued to mdf round bases and given a coat of varnish.  The cards went into self sealing plastic wallets.  By now you will have realised I’m pleased and impressed with NMTBH.

NMTBH is intended for large skirmishes or small battles.  More tangibly, the author suggests 100 figures or so a side.  These are divided into three ’wards’ as you might expect for the period.  Units contain 12 figures for foot, 6 for skirmishers and 8 for cavalry.

Troops can be optionally levy costing less or veterans costing more.

Each ward should contain a minimum of two units.  These can be Bill, Bow, Pikes or Men at Arms. Archers can be combined with other solid foot to produce a handier ‘super’ unit that’s easier to control.  There are other troop types too.  Artillery, Hand Gunners, Kern and Crossbows are all catered for.

Cavalry come as either men at arms or plain cavalry, currours and similar.

There are a couple of nice touches in NMTBH.  Archers have only 6 volleys in them and mounted Men at Arms only 2 full on charges.  Good period flavour and a clear injunction to try a little generalship if you hope to win.

The mechanisms for shooting and close combat follow a well trodden path.  A full unit of 12 Archers shoots with 12 dice.  At short range they have a better chance of hitting.  Their targets can attempt a saving throw.  Chances of a save increase with armour.  Nothing new here but it is all clearly thought out and works well.

Ditto Melee, Mounted Men at Arms get to dice per figure, foot Men at Arms 1.5 dice per figure, likewise Currours.  Bills, Pikes and Kerns get 1 dice a figure and Archers and Skirmishers 1 dice for every 2 figures.  You get the picture, re-rolls for the quality and armour or veteran status helps saving throws.  It is all nicely balanced.  There’s single combat for commanders too.  Refuse the latter at your peril.

The motor of the game is a card deck activating either side, Skirmishers or introducing a special event or advantage.  It’s a system that holds the players attention without dominating the game.

Commanders have to be active.  When their card comes up the issue a flurry of orders, directing shooting, rallying waverers and leading the fighting.  They do this by issuing order tokens or simply getting stuck in.  Commander quality can differ.

Attrition effects function and units who have had a set back get a ‘Daunted’ or ‘Disarray’ marker.  These need to be attended to.

Every time a side gets into trouble it has to hand over a morale token. The number of tokens is determined by how many non skirmishing or artillery units fielded.  The side that has to hand over all its morale tokens is beat. The other way to win is simply to kill your opponents General. 

The Irish Addendum follows below.  It’s really because NMTBH will provide me with a use for a lot of surplus figures.  That said it might be of use to others too.  Certainly you could use NMTBH to re-fight the Battle of Piltown or Knockdoe.  I’d say it would work for Flodden too.

Type	Points per figure	Move (Charge)	Shoot	Melee x D6 per figure	Save	Notes
Irish Horse	1.5	10  (14)	6	1.5	5,6	Save:4,5,6 in Melee
Gallóglaich	1.5	6 (8)	-	2	4,5,6	Better than Bills in Melee, faster too in a charge.  Disadvantaged against Men at Arms.

The Irish Horse won’t be battle winners but will be handy enough.  The Gallóglaich will “Swiftly slay or be slain” just as we are told they did.  I’ll be making mine ‘Veteran’ too, expensive, but then again they were.

I could say more positive things about NMTBH but I won’t.  It’s a quality product and eminently affordable and adaptable.

One last thing. If  you think full horse armour made a significant difference use the foot Men at Arms saving throw for those mounted Men at Arms who have it.

New WOTR toys have been ordered in the meantime here are some Flodden period English.