Designer’s Notes: Never Mind the Billhooks - Here’s the Ruckus

Mike Peters shares details of his Billhooks-inspired medieval small skirmish game, where each player controls a Captain and their small company of warriors to contest the field and win glory.

Mike advances his force through a densely packed Ruckus board.

I have been playing Never Mind the Billhooks since it was first published for free in Wargames Illustrated (Wi393, September 2020) and must have played more than fifty games by now. Each has provided a different experience and its own dramatic story on the tabletop. Billhooks is a game where Special Event Cards and capricious activation mechanisms create a dramatic narrative that often echoes historical events. The game feels like a chaotic 15th Century fight to the death in mud and blood, but manages to be great fun at the same time. Each battle is changeable, dramatic, frustrating, and gratifying by turns; Andy Callan’s seemingly simple ruleset has provided me with hours of fun and after-action debate.

The downer of duelling

One aspect of the game that has never been popular, however, is the Duelling rule. Two enemy leaders can slug it out, man to man, amid the swirling melee of battle, but what should be a moment of high drama feels out of kilter with the rest of the system. This face-off, as written in the rulebook, uses the simple game of rock/paper/scissors to determine a winner. If one of the leaders involved in this basic side-game is the C-in-C, then the result of the whole battle can be decided this way, not the glorious end you want for a clash of armies.

The rule feels so at odds with the rest of the game that most Billhooks players ditch it, and it is noticeably absent from tournament games. Nobody wants their best-laid plans to be scuppered because the enemy’s stone blunted their scissors!

Doing duels differently

Billhooks has a lively community in its Facebook group where fellow Billhookers come to swap tales, offer advice, show off their armies, and generally chew the fat. A post from veteran gamer Stuart Smith proposed an idea for Duelling where each combatant rolls a dice per level of leader, and the winner inflicts a wound on the loser. What an elegant and simple solution, I thought, and then it occurred to me that the drama of that could be further enhanced.

By allowing each Duellist a parry, where they could force the opponent to reroll their dice, there could be further nuance within a simple system. This led to the additional idea of a lunge, whereby the player could choose to reroll their dice. A more complex system was developing in my mind, but with Duelling made absent from the Billhooks games I play, I never got the chance to put my ideas into practice.

Stuart’s spark of inspiration would not go away completely; it sat in the back of my mind, like a rodent, nibbling at my gaming brain, and creating a nest of unconnected thoughts concerning Billhooks. One night, the brain worm coalesced into a singular thought that dragged me from my bed and had me rushing downstairs in search of pen and paper.

‘Billhooks as a skirmish game!’ was jotted down in my sleepy state, and the next day I got to work expanding on the idea.

Building up to a Ruckus

Billhooks has some simple rules at its core that have been knocking about since wargaming came into being. D6s (where 6 is good and 1 is bad) are rolled to hit and then rolled to save; the principle is sound, the result is interactive (as both players are involved), and, in the words of Andy Callan, if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

The game also has more modern elements that add to the challenge. A random activation system brings unpredictability and makes players await the important card that will allow their plans to slot into place. Perhaps a special card will appear that adds further friction and scuppers plans. These card systems bring much of the fun to the game and would be foolish elements to tinker with too much; they work well and can easily scale down for the activation of individuals or small groups and the use of special abilities.

How would I differentiate the skirmish game I wanted to create while maintaining this effective core of Billhooks that I already loved? This question teased my brain through about three months of tinkering as I developed my skirmish rules.

Ruckus is now a game of duels with each figure presenting a threat as an individual.

The Combatants

The obvious change is that individual figures take the place of units. Companies are formed of Heroes - the Captain and his Squires - and Retainers. Heroes have Martial Skills, which are drawn from a deck of cards, and Retainers have generic profiles that are defined by Traits.

Heroes!

The captain can take many forms: a Lord, a knight, a captain of archers, a leader of a band of outlaws, a mercenary captain with his harquebusiers, a village headman with a rabble of unruly peasants, and so much more. There may be more than one Retinue on each side, too, which brings further variation and gaming challenges. Here are some examples of heroes, but keep in mind that due to the mixable skills, the possibilities for different ‘builds’ are vast and can be randomised or cherry-picked.

Sir Henry Holland

The Third Duke of Exeter, a Lancastrian, and a right nasty character!

A fierce, angry man, Sir Henry ‘Rules with an Iron Fist’ which means followers in his retinue add one to the dice roll if ever they are out of his Command Range; they dare not misbehave!  Sir Henry is also arrogant and vain, wearing a suit of the finest ‘Fluted Plate’ armour from Milan. The ridges on this cutting-edge design give him greater protection, allowing him to reroll a failed saving throw once per melee. If this fails and he receives a wound, Sir Henry’s ‘Riposte’ skill allows him to make a vengeful hit against his enemy!

Sir Henry’s figure is from Front Rank.

Sir Walter Deveraux

A loyal Yorkist and true friend of the King.

Sir Walter’s ‘Commanding Presence’ enables him to direct his Retainers at a greater distance. His ‘Lightning Fast’ skill grants him an extra attack (included on the profile) and combines with his ‘Duellist’ ability, allowing him to Thrust and Parry in the same melee – to make him a very dangerous opponent.

Sir Deveraux’s figure is from Perry Miniatures.

Retainers

In Ruckus, Retainers have generic profiles that share the same Traits rather than the Individual Skills that the Heroes have, but Retainers can gain Skills in the Campaign game. These are the ordinary soldiers - Archers, Billmen, Crossbowmen, Landsknechts, Gallowglasses, etc - the PBI of the medieval world. There are currently 25 different profiles for Retainers with quite a few more on the way. Here’s a taster of just a few.

The Archer

The mainstay of any English medieval Retinue.

The archer is lightly armoured, and his saving throw reflects this, but he can dish out damage from up to 24” with his longbow. Although being ‘Encumbered’ with bow and arrows reduces his ability to fight, he can choose to Evade from chargers thanks to the ‘Shootist’ trait or equip himself for melee with sword and buckler thanks to ‘Armed for Combat’.

This Archer figure is from Front Rank.

The Bill Man

The professional soldier who could stand his ground against the more heavily armoured Men-at-Arms..

He has a slightly better saving throw than the Archer due to his stronger armour. He is skilled in combat with his polearm, and his traits reflect this. He has the trait ‘Skill’d at Arms’ which allows him to use Thrust, Parry, and Fend in the same way as the Heroes and the ‘Support’ trait which allows him to add a dice to an adjacent comrade’s melee.

This Billman is from Front Rank.

Switching to playing cards

I honed my ‘Skill’d at Arms’ rules for melee (a Thrust-Parry-Fend system that has evolved from Stuart’s initial Duelling ‘fix’) and introduced the idea of individual Martial Skills for the combatants. These are decided before play starts in a one-off game and are represented by a playing card deck. Each card represents a different skill from the suits:

• Clubs - Strength in combat.

• Spades - Dexterity in combat.

• Hearts - Leadership/Charisma/Courage skills.

• Diamonds - Archery/Missile skills.

I had planned to use the Billhooks Special Event cards in the game, too, but it proved unnecessarily complicated to write alternate Event explanations connected to the existing cards. Instead, I turned to the playing card deck once again.

Joseph McCullough is an influence on my game design, and I love the way he uses playing cards in games such as Rangers of Shadow Deep. The card deck functions much like it does in the larger Billhooks games, but playing cards are more adaptable and are easily accessible, as most households have them. Cross-referenced with tables of Events, the same card can have different meanings for each player or vary by Theatre, and the deck can be stacked with more of one particular result if players choose, increasing the possibility of it coming up.

Mike at Wi Tower, drawing cards and assigning associated skills to his characters, as he shows off his game.

Special events

A rare occurrence in Billhooks but far more common in the story-packed games of Ruckus, special events are very much a two-edged sword! They can provide an unexpected boost, or they might bring some unwanted friction; either way, they guarantee a narrative event and increase the fun! Playing cards are used to create a generic deck of special events, as well as some scenario-specific events tailored to fit the circumstances of the scenario.

Generic special events examples

‘You Tardy Knave’

This is played on your Opponent as they draw a Hero card and force them to place that card at the bottom of the deck, thereby missing their turn.

‘Blessed By Providence!’

A religious amulet, small prayer book, or lucky talisman turns aside the point of the weapon and prevents a wound. This is the type of card that helps you rather than hindering your opponent.

Scenario-specific special events examples

‘The Peasants Are Revolting!’

A card specifically designed for the scenario called Hit Him Where It Hurts. The local Peasants are restless and have become increasingly angry at their overlord’s greedy, grasping ways; the drawing player may place six peasants on the table 9” away from an enemy character. This player controls the band of peasants for the rest of the game, and in this scenario, all peasants are considered angry and lose the ‘Reluctant Warrior’ trait.

To add the functionality of the new group of peasants, an ambush card of the appropriate colour gets shuffled into the play deck, and they are activated when it is drawn.

One advantage of using playing cards is that the Event deck can be tailored so that an event occurs more or less frequently. In Hit Him Where It Hurts, there are four sixes (which are the ‘The Peasants Are Revolting’ cards, increasing the chances of Peasant Revolt.

‘If I Can Just…’

This card is used specifically in the Rescue scenario, and it is represented by the seven, eight, nine, or Queen cards, vastly increasing the frequency of its appearance. If one of these is drawn by the Attacker, it allows a bound prisoner an attempt to cut his bonds on a jagged fragment of a broken blade that just happens to be on the ground, as is tradition in the great swashbuckling stories!

‘I Think I Heard Something…’

Should the Defender draw a seven, eight, nine, or Queen in the same The Rescue scenario, a completely different Scenario Specific Event triggers, which allows a spotting check for any sneaking attackers.

Skill’d At Arms

Each character in melee has an Attack attribute representing their skill in combat. For knights, the bosses of hand-to-hand, the Attack is three; this means they roll three dice in melee. In the First round of a melee, characters require a 4+ to score a hit, but there’s more to it than that, especially as more elite fighters do battle. Follow as these two captains battle it out across multiple rounds of combat.

A round of melee

Blue (left) is the attacker and rolls three dice as his captain’s Attack value is three. Red (right) is also a captain and rolls three dice too.

Both Captains have the ‘Skill’d at Arms Trait’, which consists of three Skills that can be used to manipulate the melee dice. They can each choose to use one of these Skills once in each round of melee. The skills are:

• Thrust - The ability to reroll one of your attack dice.

• Parry - The ability to force your opponent to reroll one of their attack dice.

• Fend - Only used if you are the defender. Fend gives the character another dice to roll, but successes are used to block the opponent’s hits; choosing to Fend means that the defender cannot cause wounds.

1) Both players roll and need 4+ to hit. They examine the results. Blue has rolled two 1’s and a 4, while red has a 1, a 3, and a 5. Blue has the skill ‘Deadly Blade’ which allows him to reroll a 1 to hit in melee. Unfortunately, his reroll is another 1. In Ruckus, you cannot reroll a rerolled die, so it will remain a 1. Next, as the attacker, Blue has the option to use ‘Skill’d at Arms’ first. He elects to use a Thrust and rerolls the other dice that scored a 1.

2) This reroll gets him a four and with the hit from the other four he has two hits on Red.

3) Sir Red now uses his ‘Skill’d at Arms’ trait and elects to Parry one of Sir Blue’s hits. This forces Blue to reroll one of his 4s, but he gets a 5; the Parry has been unsuccessful, and Blue has retained two hits while Sir Red has scored one with his 5.

4) They both wear full plate armour, so normally save on a 3+; however, Red has the skill ‘As Strong as an ‘Orse’, which means that Blue’s saving throw is reduced to 4+. Red rolls a 5 and 6 to successfully deflect both hits. Sir Blue rolls a 3 and sustains a wound! This completes the first round of melee.

5) In the second round of melee, characters hit on a 5+ as they are starting to tire. Sir Blue has been wounded and is reduced to two attacks. He rolls 4 and a 3. Sir Red still has three attacks and rolls a 5, 4, and 3.

6) Sir Blue - still the attacker - elects to Thrust and rerolls the 4 getting a 5 - a hit! Sir Red also Thrusts his 4 into a 5 and scores two hits.

7) The unfortunate Blue rolls a 5 and 3, saving just onece, and takes another wound. Sir Red rolls a 6 and remains uninjured.

8) There are three rounds to each combat. In the third round, the combatants are becoming increasingly tired and not only do they hit on 5+, they also lose the ‘Skill’d at Arms’ trait entirely, so they will no longer be able to reroll their dice.

Sir Blue, who has taken two wounds, is in a desperate situation and, as he only has one attack, decides to Fend, which must be announced before any dice are rolled. Fending means he can roll an extra dice, but any ‘hits’ will block Red’s hits.

Blue rolls a 5 and a 6, and although Red rolls a 5, 4, and 3, Sir Blue has successfully blocked Red’s attack; this ends the melee.

Connected but different

Although a separate game for very small skirmishes, I wanted Ruckus to be compatible with its Bigger Billhooks Brother so that it could form a ‘game within a game’. Like Billhooks, the game uses a deck of cards to create Random Activation and Events and the old D6 to resolve shooting attacks, melee, and Will-to-Fight rolls. The transition from one game to the other feels quite natural.

Ruckus battles can be one-off scraps or flow as a campaign, with character development included as different figures gain new skills and attributes.

There is no Manoeuvre Phase in Ruckus; instead, players deploy their Retinues as directed by the Scenario rules.

Initially, I had melee taking place over three turns - a la Billhooks - which provided some interesting tactical choices but became complicated when combat involved more than two characters. The simple solution was to have melee resolve in three rounds and fight them all in one turn.

A group of retainers advances towards a peasant, but could he be the spy they’ve been searching for?

Broad scope

As with Billhooks, Ruckus is initially set in the Albion theatre for the Wars of the Roses conflict. It is a time of misrule, lawlessness, and diverse alarums! A time for rebels and outlaws, a time of border conflicts and raids, a time when old family feuds escalate, a time to settle scores. In short, the perfect setting for a skirmish game and rightly the initial focus of Ruckus.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have plans to adapt Ruckus to the other Billhooks Deluxe theatres using the Deluxe stats and profiles as a guide. I am working through them one at a time and have written new Retinues for the Hundred Years’ War already; now I’m working on scenarios to go with them.

Many of the scenarios require specific Special Events cards and Special Rules, and this is another reason for the use of standard playing cards with tables as opposed to special and specific decks. This flexibility allows the basic game to be adapted for any medieval Theatre, and I can envisage a future edition of Ruckus which is period agnostic, extending the game to stretch from the Early Medieval to the British Civil Wars of the 17th Century. I am also thinking pirates! But for now, I’m trying to stay focused on the present and getting the core of the game as refined as possible before it gets into players’ hands.

Principles of design

Like Billhook’s author, Andy Callan, I am not a fan of complicated games; however, games that are too simple can be boring and lack nuance. I’ve aimed to create a game that has simple individual mechanisms which, when layered, become complex rather than complicated. Tried and tested basic systems (such as 1 is bad, 6 is good) apply throughout the game, but here and there, I layer in extra flavour and quirks so that a process usually has several elements to it.

The goal is always to make mechanisms that provide a fun and engaging game rather than striving for realism or historical accuracy. By doing this, I hope I’ve produced a system that is easy to learn yet requires good tactical play to get the best from the game. Skirmish games with no purpose can be rather stale affairs, so scenarios with achievable yet challenging goals and a good narrative are essential.

While a board as packed as this would make playing Billhooks a nightmare, Ruckus is very much a ‘the more terrain the better’ kind of game.

Going forward

I like my game! It is fun to play, interactive, engaging, and delivers narrative events on the tabletop. Ruckus is easy to pick up for anyone, but especially existing Billhooks players, as it only uses a few figures and utilises the same cards and factors as the main game. If you are a Billhooks player, then it would be silly not to give Ruckus a try, as you have everything you need to play the game already, other than the rules. As for those rules, I’m very happy to say that they’ll be available for free with a future issue of Wargames Illustrated!

Nine-Fingered Ambrose and more!

In a future issue, we’ll show off more of Ruckus with reports on various battles we’ve played at Wi Tower. Mike and his good friend, and regular opponent Mark Taylor, fight over a bountiful monastery garden while searching for Nine Fingered Ambrose, a spy who has disguised himself as a monk, the Brothers Callan - Andy and Ian - the fight in the fog, and team Wi play a game themed around Sherwood Forest residents of legend.