Billhooks Bash V1
The 6th annual Billhooks Bash was held on Saturday 14th September at the Boards and Swords venue in Derby. Organised by Pete Harris, and assisted by his new apprentice Steve Wood, this event is a celebration of Never Mind the Billhooks. Played in a non-competitive spirit, with an emphasis on having a fun and an enjoyable day with like-minded enthusiasts. The players are split into Yorkist or Lancastrian supporters and the winning faction can enjoy boasting rights at the end of the day!
Meal at the Exeter Arms
It has been customary for players to meet for a meal (at the very pleasant Exeter Arms in Derby) and a few drinks on the Friday evening prior to the event. Of course, it’s an ideal way of breaking the ice for new participants. The author of the rules, Andy Callan was able to join us for the meal and answer questions in advance of the event.
We had 13 attendees for the meal, many of whom had travelled some distance to the venue and were staying overnight at the local Travelodge. On the day, we had 18 players as well as a reserve player/runner/umpire: Austen, who I think had as much excitement as the players! About half of the armies were based around WOTR retinues, but as a result of the Billhooks Deluxe rules we had a variety of other armies on show: Spanish, Italian, French, Burgundian, Border Reivers, and even a Transylvanian contingent, fielded by Ian Callan.
The Bash attendees. Rear row (left to right): Luke Parry, Tom Farrell, Jan Ash, Lloyd Lewis, Mike Peters, David Grummitt, Robert Kime, Peter Harris, Peter Loughlin. Front row (left to right): Robbie Rodiss, Steve Wood, Mark Taylor, Richard Marriott, Dave Gretton, Wayne Ellington, Austen Kime, Ian Callan, John Kersey, Andy Moran.
The fact that we were able to mix such an array of armies is a testament both to the flexibility of the rules and more importantly, the players, who were happy to default to the core rules in the case of rules conflicts.
The plan for the day was that we would play three games: one in the morning at a relaxed pace to ease newbies into the day, and then two games in the afternoon. At lunchtime there was a painting competition, where players displayed their armies and voted for the best painted. The competition was extremely close as there were so many well painted armies on display. We had joint winners with Mark Taylor's Landsknechts sharing the honours with Luke Parry's WOTR retinue, which include fighting geese! An honourable mention must also go to Lloyd Lewis, who came a close second with his Spanish Army led by none other than Lord Flash!
The quickest game of the day was the match between Robbie Roddis' Burgundians and Mark Taylor’s Landsknechts. The Landsknechts pike square crashed home into the Burgundian Commanders unit and routed it in turn two! Having learnt their lesson, the Burgundians went on to be victorious in subsequent games! Not that I should gloat, having lost my Commander in what should have been a final victory charge - a unit of Gendarmes against a badly beat up Bill and Bow block- what could possibly go wrong... The dice can be capricious. Pete Harris' Reiver army was extremely disappointed to be on the wrong side of a special event surprise flank charge from Luke Parry's WOTR light cavalry, only to win the combat, and following a morale collapse by Luke’s units, winning the game! As Andy Callan said on hearing the various tales of woe and victory, 'I never cease to be amazed at how unpredictable these games turn out to be!’
A special presentation of the superb Graham Turner Wars of The Roses book was made to Pete Harris in thanks for all the hard work he had put in to organising six of these events, along with the preceding Friday night meals. Well done Pete, very well deserved!
Pete Harris book presentation
The day ended with the Yorkist (or White) faction beating the Lancastrian (or Red) Faction by 14 victories to 12.
The whole event was a superb advert for the hobby, with the games being played in good-humoured spirit with plenty of laughter to accompany both victories and misfortune. The day was superbly hosted by Ian and the team at Boards and Swords, with unlimited tea and coffee through the day and pizzas for lunch!
Once again, it is worth repeating that the easy-going nature and sportsmanship of the players really made the day. As I found to my cost, you can execute the best strategy but the fortunes of war can be fickle!
If you would like to see battle reports and more pictures of the games and armies involved, please visit the NMTB's Facebook page.
I'm already looking forward to the next event – to be held at Bristol in the Spring, I hope. Watch out for more details.
By Steve Wood.