War of the Roses, my cunning and nefarious plan

I am a descendant of some guy named Henry Tudor and his wife, Elizabeth of York.

Yeah, that Henry Tudor.

The same guy whose forces defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, ending the Wars of the Roses and making Henry Tudor King Henry VII.

Needless to say, my ancestry has been compelling me to do a War of the Roses game and campaign for a very, very long time.

How long, you ask?

Well, somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty-five years.

That's a long time.

So why hasn't it happened?

That's actually a good question, and answering it requires stepping back and looking at how miniature gaming projects happen.

How Projects Actually Happen

Gaming projects generally happen one of two ways.

You either do it yourself, which means painting both sides, or you find somebody—or somebodies—willing to paint the opposing side.

The second option is considerably more attractive when you're talking about the Wars of the Roses.

Back in the early 2000s, there was genuine interest in the period among four to six other gamers. As groups of gamers tend to do, we sat down and started working out a plan.

And then we discovered that we had opinions.

Lots of opinions.

Rules were debated.

Scale was debated.

Figure scale was debated.

And, perhaps most importantly of all, basing was debated.

These were not casual discussions.

I was the major mover and shaker behind the project, and I managed to lose every single major point in the group discussion.

I didn't lose because the other people had bad ideas. In fact, most of the decisions made perfectly good sense. The problem was that the group was clearly envisioning something different from what I had been envisioning.

So I did what any reasonable person would do.

I stepped back.

I was still going to participate, but I was no longer driving the project.

Unfortunately, without me in the driver's seat, the bus eventually pulled over, parked alongside the road, and stopped.

Twenty-Five Years of Almost

Over the next twenty-five years, the War of the Roses project surfaced several times.

It would get discussed.

Someone would become interested.

I'd get excited again.

And, inevitably, something would prevent it from gaining enough momentum to actually become a project.

I bought figures in 2005.

Then again in 2009.

Then 2015.

And again in 2020.

Each time I told myself that this time I was going to make it happen.

But I never completely committed.

The reason was simple.

I was still thinking of the War of the Roses as a group project.

And if the group wasn't ready to do it, I wasn't going to build the entire thing myself.

That has changed.

Finally, A Plan

As the Centurions have increasingly moved toward Field of Glory: Ancients & Medieval 3rd Edition, I started looking at the project differently.

Rather than asking:

"What would the perfect Centurions War of the Roses project look like?"

I'm asking:

"What do I actually want to build?"

The answer turns out to be considerably simpler.

I'm going to start with Henry Tudor's army at Bosworth.

Not a theoretical army.

Not an army list.

Henry Tudor's army.

Then I'm going to build enough additional commanders and troops to allow us to fight other important battles of the Wars of the Roses—particularly Towton, which is the army Jim is working toward.

And suddenly the project has a purpose.

Henry Tudor's Army

The first goal is to create a force representing Henry Tudor's army at Bosworth Field.

The centerpiece will be:

Henry Tudor
Inspired Commander
2 stands Superior Knights — Henry's personal bodyguard

Then:

Earl of Oxford
Field Commander

• 4 stands Mounted Knights
• 6 stands Dismounted Men-at-Arms
• 6 stands Billmen
• 6 stands Longbowmen
• 6 stands Longbowmen

Then:

Rhys ap Thomas
Field Commander

• 4 stands Dismounted Men-at-Arms
• 6 stands Billmen
• 6 stands Longbowmen
• 6 stands Longbowmen

Then:

Philbert de Chandée
Troop Commander

• 16 stands Scottish Pikemen
• 4 stands Dismounted Men-at-Arms
• 8 stands Crossbowmen

And finally:

Gilbert Talbot
Mounted Troop Commander

• 4 stands Cavalry
• 4 stands Cavalry

There are still figures to paint, units to finish, and inevitably more figures that will need to be purchased.

But for the first time in twenty-five years, I am not waiting for somebody else to make the project happen.

I'm building it.

Why Bosworth?

There is obviously the family connection.

It would be difficult to ignore.

But Bosworth is also a wonderful starting point for a club project. It provides a relatively manageable army while offering several distinct commands that can be divided among players.

And then there is the story.

Henry Tudor arrived in England with a relatively small force, supported by English and Welsh nobles and a substantial contingent of French and Scottish troops. He faced the army of Richard III, whose own political position was already complicated by shifting loyalties.

Bosworth is exactly the sort of battle that works well for the way the Centurions like to game.

Multiple commands.

Multiple players.

Political uncertainty.

And enough room for the battle to go somewhere other than the historical outcome.

Which is, after all, why we play miniature wargames.

Twenty-Five Years Later

It is somewhat amusing that after twenty-five years of discussing rules, basing, scales, figures, campaigns, and what everyone else wanted to do, I've finally arrived back at the beginning.

Except this time, I'm not waiting for the group to build my army for me.

I'm building Henry Tudor.

Perhaps there is something appropriate about that.

After all, Henry spent years waiting for his opportunity, crossed the Channel with an army, landed in Wales, marched across England, and eventually found himself standing on a battlefield where the future of the country—and his own future—would be decided.

I suppose I can manage painting a few hundred little men.

And if things go particularly well, perhaps this time Henry Tudor actually wins Bosworth.