A month of new rules.

 September proved to be a month of acquiring more new rules. Last month I took the plunge and got the second edition of Saga, this month I added to this with 'Never Mind the Billhooks' a set of rules for the Wars of the Roses that came free with Wargames Illustrated magazine, 'Impetus 2nd Edition' and 'Rapid 'Fire Reloaded'. All games that I am keen to play. 

Of course Corona Virus restrictions will severely affect my chances of getting a game in with any of them but of all of the above sets of rules, the 'Never Mind the Billhooks' really caught my interest. So a variety of Perry Miniatures plastic and metal figures have been purchased and the first two units painted. I have gone for the Lancastrian Earl of Northumberland and his retinue of bill and also a unit of archers. 'Billhooks' look like they will capture the flavour of the period and remind me a little of the old Bill Lamming 'Rules for Medieval Warfare' I played back in the late 70's, so they have a touch of nostalgia for me too!

I had originally based the billmen individually but decided to rebase them on 2of 6x4cm mdf bases; this ties in with and makes the figures useable with other rules such as 'Impetus' and 'To the Strongest'.

I also made some simple arrow counters using the spare groups/sheafs of arrows from the Perry sprues. Archer units get to fire 6 times before running out of arrows. I used 12mm dice and frames as they are easier to handle and see. 

Rapid Fire Re-loaded may have to wait for a while but I did manage one game of Second Edition Impetus with my Gauls taking on Pete's Carthaginians. Play was a little slow at first as we got used to the new rules (there are a lot of pages on just moving your troops) but we did speed up a little towards the end. The dice gods favoured my Gauls as I broke though on my left flank and was managing to hold the centre whilst seeming to gain the upper hand on the right flank. A rare victory for my Gauls. 

It was great to play Impetus again and both Pete and I finished wanting to play more games. I really need to paint more Gauls some time soon and perhaps read the rules again!.