Special Ops Issue #12

WARRIORS OF ENGLAND
The Wars of the Roses

1.0 Introduction 2.0 Components

The Wars of the Roses was a 32-year conflict in the mid The game consists of:
to late fifteenth century that had the rival houses of Lan-
One 22” x 34” map
caster and York fighting for control of the Plantagenet dy-
162 3/4” counters
nasty and control of the English throne. Starting with the
First Battle of St. Albans when Richard of York captured Players will need to provide several six sided dice.
Henry VI, the two houses fought for control of England Players will also need an opaque cup for random
until the controversial king, Richard III, was killed at the draws.
Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485.
2.1 Map
After his victory at Bosworth Field, Henry VII married Eliz- The map consists of 13 regions (including London, Cal-
abeth of York. With this marriage the House of Lancaster ais, and Ireland) and 3 Friendly Foreign Areas (Scotland,
and the House of York were combined, and the House of France, and Burgundy). Each region has a name, an
Tudor was born and gained control of England. abbreviation and a Victory Point (VP) value.
Warriors of England is a quick playing game covering Each Foreign Area has a name, a VP penalty, a coat of
the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487) and uses similar arms, and a rose that identifies which faction may enter
game mechanics as Multi-Man Publishing’s Warriors of
the area.
God game covering The Hundred Years War. Warriors of
England is a two player game where one player controls Other map features include a Victory Point Track, Game
the Lancaster forces and the other controls the Yorkist Turn Track, Initiative Track, the Tower of London Box, and
forces. a Covert Box for each player.

Region
Name

Region
Abbreviation

Victory Point
Value

Foreign Area Victory Point Faction

Name Penalty Rose

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 Special Ops Issue #12

2.2 Counters Control – Used to mark control of areas

There are three types of counters: Nobles, Troops, and Aggressor – Marks which player is the aggressor for
markers. combat
2.2.1 Nobles Missed! – Used during combat turns
Nobles are rated for Battle and Leadership. The face- Disgraced – Marks Nobles who have retreated this turn
up, darker side is used from the start of the game; after
being killed in battle, the Noble is flipped to its face- 2.3 Dice
down, grey striped side. If killed again, the Noble is At least one six-sided die is required for play, though
removed from play (exception: see 14.0 Henry VI). Red more are better — 6 dice per player is a good number.
Nobles are Lancaster, white Nobles are York, green are
neutral. Control of neutral Nobles is indicated by facing 3.0 Setup
them so as to be read by their controlling player. Players Players decide who will take which side and sets up their
may inspect Nobles that are in play at any time. Friendly
forces as listed below. Make sure your pieces face you.
Nobles are Nobles that you control, enemy Nobles are
Place all neutral Nobles with a green face-up side in the
controlled by your opponent.
draw cup. For ease of setup, Nobles with a black dot on
Nobles have a home region indicated by abbreviation; if the right side of their counter are part of the standard
it is a crown, the Noble has no home region. Nobles also setup for each game.
have a rank from 1 to 3 gold stars: 3 stars = royal heir; 2
LANCASTER
stars = influential lord; 1 star = minor lord.
Face-Up Face-Down • Henry VI (face down, on his infirm side) + 2 Troops
in LONDON
Name and Title
• Margaret of Anjou + 1 Troop in LONDON
Rank
• Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset + 2 Troops in
Onboard SOUTH MIDLANDS
Setup
• Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham + 2
Troops in SOUTH MIDLANDS
YORK
• Richard, Duke of York + 4 Troops in WEST MID-
LANDS
Leadership Rating
Both Players
Home Region
The York player draws 5 neutral Nobles from the draw
Battle Rating cup and places them face up to the side of the board.
Starting with the York player, each player selects one
2.2.2 Troops neutral Noble and places (11.2) them in their home region
Troop markers work like currency (num- with 2 Troops each. (The York player will end up with 3
bers can be freely exchanged so long as neutral Nobles and the Lancaster player with 2 neutral
the total is the same). Troops must always Nobles.) If a player draws Richard Neville (the 2 star No-
be attached to Nobles. A given Noble ble with a crown), he may be placed in any region con-
can have at most 2 Troops for each star taining a friendly Noble or in a Friendly Foreign Area with
of rank. Nobles count as 1 Troop in battle 2 Troops.
(this intrinsic strength point does not count against a
If a region contains Nobles from both players, the York
Noble’s ability to command Troops). Troops can never
player should mark his Nobles with an Aggressor marker.
be transferred between Nobles. Each Troop point is
about 1,000 men. The number of Troop markers provid- The VP marker goes in its start box. The Turn marker
ed are not a limit. Players may inspect Troops attached starts on Turn 1. The remaining Lancaster (red) and York
to a Noble at any time. (white) Nobles are placed into the cup with the neutral
Nobles.
2.2.3 Markers
Place Control markers in each area that is controlled by a
Game Turn – Used to track the current game turn
player. Any area that contains Nobles from both players
Original Initiative – Marks the original initiative value will be uncontrolled.
during a turn
Impulses Remaining – Used to track Impulses Remain-
ing for both players

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Special Ops Issue #12

4.0 Sequence of Play 5.0 Initiative

The game lasts a maximum of 9 turns, which represents Initiative has a big effect on campaigns and placing No-
3-4 years each. bles. To determine the Initiative each turn, both sides roll
one die. The higher roll wins Initiative for the turn. If the
4.1 Determine Initiative
roll is tied, the side without the Initiative last turn gets it
Determine which side has the initiative this turn (5.0). this turn. If tied on the first turn, York has the Initiative.
4.2 Campaigns Add 1 to the roll by the player who lost Initiative. Place
Players take turns moving their Nobles (6.0). the Initiative marker in that column on the Initiative Track,
4.3 Battles in the box of the Initiative player. Place the Initiative Play-
Fight a battle in every region where both sides have er’s Impulses Remaining marker in the same column. The
Nobles (7.0). non-Initiative Player’s Impulses Remaining marker should
be placed in their box, one less than the Initiative player.
4.4 Control
Both sides attempt to gain control of regions (8.0). 6.0 Campaigns
4.5 Levy During Campaigns, each player take turns moving their
Players levy Troops in regions they control (including in Nobles. A Noble’s Troops must always accompany them
Friendly Foreign Areas) (9.0). on the move.

4.6 Tower of London 6.1 General rules

The side that controls London may put prisoners on • The Initiative player takes the first campaign. Play-
trial to pardon or execute them (10.0). ers then alternate campaigns, moving the Impulses
4.7 Placing Nobles Remaining marker down the track for each player,
Players draw new Nobles and may play Nobles from until the marker enters the 0 column.
their Covert Box to the map (11.0). • A campaign is the movement of up to two Nobles
4.8 Victory Points (and their attached Troops) from a single region
Adjust the VP marker, primarily based on control of to a single adjacent region. Nobles may not split
regions (12.0). up and move to more than one region in a single
campaign.
4.9 Henry VI
The Lancaster player rolls a die to determine Henry VI’s • For most campaigns, up to two Nobles may move.
status for the next turn. However, when crossing an obstructed boundary
or a sea route, only one Noble may move.
4.10 Advance the Turn Marker
• A player may pass instead of taking a campaign. A
Check for automatic victory. Advance the Turn Marker
player may campaign on a later opportunity even if
and begin a new turn (14.0). If this is the end of Turn 9
they passed earlier in the turn.
the game ends.
• A Noble may move in more than one campaign a
turn, if otherwise eligible.

Campaign Example
During the Campaign Phase, the Lancaster
player has John Talbot (with four Troops) and
James Tuchet (with two Troops) in the North
Midlands.
The Lancaster player can move both John
Talbot and James Tuchet (and their Troops)
across the Clear Terrain Boundary into the
West Midlands.
If the Lancaster player wanted to move into
the Northwest, then only one Noble could
move during that Campaign Phase due to the
Obstructed Terrain Boundary.
Remember, Nobles may not split up and move
to different areas during a single Campaign
Phase, so if John and James wanted to both
move during the Campaign Phase they would
need to move to the same region

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 Special Ops Issue #12

6.2 Campaign restrictions 2. If your commander’s Battle Rating is greater than

the opposing commander’s, you may add the
• Your Nobles in a region with enemy Nobles may only
difference to each of your dice. For example, if your
leave to campaign if there are a number of friendly
commander’s Battle Rating is 3, and the enemy
Nobles equal to or greater than the enemy Nobles
commander’s Battle Rating is 1, you may add 2 to
remaining behind.
each of your dice (hitting on 4+ instead of 6). If your
• Your Nobles can only move to a Foreign Area if it is commander’s Battle Rating is the same or lower,
friendly (Lancaster - France or Scotland; York - Bur- there is no effect.
gundy).
3. If the aggressor did not inflict any battle hits on his
6.3 Placing Aggressor markers opponent, he gets the 1st Round Missed marker; if
If you move a Noble into an area that contains one or more this is his second consecutive round of missing, flip
enemy Nobles, but no other friendly Nobles, you become the marker over to its 2nd Round Missed side. If the
the “aggressor.” Place an Aggressor marker of the appro- aggressor already has a 1st Round Missed marker
priate side in the area so you don’t forget which side is the or a 2nd Round Missed marker and he scored a hit
aggressor. If you move a Noble into an area that already in this battle round, he can remove the marker.
contains an Aggressor marker (no matter which side is the 7.4 Non-Aggressor Side Attacks
aggressor), there is no effect.
Same as 7.3 above (ignore item 3, Aggressor misses).
7.0 Battles
7.5 Scoring Hits
After all campaigns are complete, a battle is fought in ev-
ery region with Nobles from both sides. The Initiative play- 1. Hits scored by both sides are applied simultaneous-
er decides the order that battles are resolved in. Follow ly. Each player determines and rolls for their own
the sequence below to resolve battles. Completely resolve Noble losses, under the restrictions below.
a battle for a region before moving on to the next.
2. Hits must be applied to Troops before they can
be applied to Nobles, regardless of who they are
7.1 Choose Commanders
attached to. A Troop point that takes a hit is elimi-
Both sides choose one Noble to be their commander for nated.
the battle, non-Initiative player first. You must choose a
Noble with the highest rank (number of stars) among your 3. If any hits remain after all Troops have been elim-
Nobles in the region. inated, hits may be applied to Nobles (chosen by
the recipient, but the commander last of all).
7.2 Intrigue
4. When a hit is applied to a Noble, immediately roll a
Before battle, beginning with the non-Aggressor player, die on the Flight Table. The result may differ de-
each side may attempt intrigue to get one enemy Noble to pending on who controls London.
switch sides. A Noble that switches sides may later switch
back to their original side. 5. If the result is “Killed”, the Noble is eliminated. If the
Noble was face up, flip it and place it in its owner’s
1. Choose an enemy Noble and roll a die. Subtract the
Covert Box instead (after being flipped, if the Noble
enemy Noble’s stars from your commander’s stars.
is neutral, place it in your Covert Box).
If the roll is less than or equal to this difference, the
intrigue is successful and the enemy Noble (and all 6. If the result is “Tower of London”, place the Noble in
his Troops) switches to your side immediately. the Tower Box.
2. If the chosen enemy Noble is the enemy color, add 1 7. For other results, see the Flight Table.
to the roll (i.e. it is more difficult).
Flight Table
3. If the intrigue fails, there is no effect.
Roll Result
4. If a commander switches sides, a player must
choose a new commander from the remaining No- 1 Killed
bles in the battle. 2 Killed
5. If one player has no Nobles remaining after Intrigue, 3 Move to your Covert Box
no battle is fought in this region.
4 Killed*
7.3 Aggressor Side Attacks 5 Move to your Covert Box*
1. The Aggressor side rolls a number of dice equal to 6 Exiled to friendly Foreign Area*
the number of Nobles and Troops on their side, or
the commander’s Leadership Rating, whichever is * sent to Tower of London instead if your
fewer. A hit is scored for every 6+ that is rolled. opponent controls London

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Special Ops Issue #12

Battle Example
During the Campaign Phase, the York player moved Richard Neville and Edward Hastings (and their Troops) into the North
Midlands from Yorkshire. Since the Lancaster player had Nobles in the region, a York Aggressor marker is placed in the
region.
The Lancaster player selects John Talbot as his commander. The York player selects Richard Neville as his commander.
During Intrigue the Lancaster player goes first. Since John Talbot has a rank of 2 stars he could try to bring Edward Hast-
ings (who is a 1 star Noble) to the Lancaster side, but since Edward is a white (York) Noble +1 must be added to the roll
John will not be able to roll the required number for a successful Intrigue. [John’s 2 stars - 2 (1 star for Edward and +1 for
being the enemy color) = 0]
The York player may attempt to Intrigue James Tuchet and rolls a “5”, which is unsuccessful. A successful roll of 1 was
required. [Richard’s 2 stars - James’ 1 star = 1]
During the first round of battle, the York player will roll six dice. [There are eight York Nobles and Troops in the area, but
Richard’s Leadership Rating is 6, so the lower number is used.] Since Richard’s Battle Rating is 3 and John only has a
Battle Rating of 2, Richard will have a +1 to all
of his dice results. His final dice rolls are “2”,
“4”, “6”, “7”, “6”, and “6”. Richard scores four
hits against the Lancaster forces.
The Lancaster player will then roll five dice.
[There are eight Lancaster Nobles and Troops
in the area, but John’s Leadership Rating is
5, so the lower number is used.] John’s Battle
Rating is lower than Richard’s, he does not get
any modifier to his dice rolls. His final dice rolls
are “1”, “6”, “3”, “4”, and “6”. John has scored
two hits.
Both sides must apply the hits scored against
them, the Lancaster player must apply four
hits and removes four Troops. The York player
applies two hits and removes two Troop (one
from each Noble).
After this round of battle, either side may
withdraw (starting with the non-Aggressor). If
neither party withdraws, then another round of
battle is resolved.

7.6 Withdrawal Nobles that are not able to withdraw are forced to
After both sides have rolled their attacks, either side may roll on the Flight Table and any Troops with them
withdraw from the region. At least one round of attacks are eliminated. This happens before Step 6 below.
must be made before either side can withdraw. 5. You cannot withdraw to a region containing enemy
1. The non-Aggressor player gets first opportunity to Nobles. You may withdraw to an enemy-controlled
announce withdrawal, followed by the Aggressor region (e.g. if a battle cleared out all enemy Nobles).
player. 6. After a withdrawal is declared, the side that is not
2. Withdrawal is movement from the battle’s region to withdrawing conducts one round of attacks against
an adjacent region. the withdrawing units. After hits are applied, re-
maining forces withdraw to the declared region.
3. All of the withdrawing side’s Nobles and Troops
must withdraw together to a single region, declared 7. Any Nobles that withdraw are disgraced (place a
Disgraced marker on the Noble(s) as a reminder).
in advance. Withdrawal to more than one region is
prohibited. 7.7 End of Battle
4. Campaign movement limits apply - i.e. up to two Conduct another round of battle starting with Step (7.3)
Nobles (and their Troops) may withdraw, but only until one side is eliminated or withdraws. However, if the
one Noble across obstructed terrain or sea routes. aggressor began this battle round with the 2nd Round
If there are more Nobles that can withdraw, the Missed marker and he scored no hits this round, the
owning player selects which Nobles can withdraw. non-aggressor may elect to either:

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 Special Ops Issue #12

Withdraw Example
After the first round of combat, the Lancaster player decides to withdraw his forces to the West Midlands. [Since the
boundary to the Northwest region is obstructed, only one Noble could withdraw to that region.] The York player will get
one more round of battle against the withdrawing Lancaster forces.
The York player still rolls six dice. Richard still
gets +1 to his rolls due to his Battle Rating.
Richard’s final dice rolls are “5”, “6”, “4”, “6”,
“6”, and “2”. The York player scores three more
hits.
Since the Lancaster player is withdrawing, they
do not get to roll in this round of battle.
The Lancaster player must take three hits and
since there are only two Troops remaining,
the other hit must be taken against a Noble.
The Lancaster player applies the hit to James
Tuchet and rolls on the Flight Table. The roll is
“2”, so James is killed. His counter is flipped
over to the face-down side and is placed in the
Lancaster Covert Box.
The Lancaster player may now withdraw his
remaining forces to the West Midlands.
After withdrawing, John Talbot is marked with a Eliminated
Disgraced marker.

• continue with another battle round; or 8. If at any time you do not occupy London with a
3-star Noble, you lose control of it.
• force his luckless foe to run away as described in
step (7.6. Step 3). If the non-aggressor chooses 9. Friendly Foreign Areas are always under the con-
to continue with the battle, the aggressor removes trol of the faction they aligned with (as notated by
the 2nd Round Missed marker. the faction rose)l.

8.0 Control 10. Remove all Disgraced markers.

Checking control of regions can be done in any order. All 9.0 Levy
regions may come under control of either Lancaster or
Nobles in regions you control (including Friendly Foreign
York. Gameplay largely revolves around trying to increase
Areas) may levy new Troops.
the number of regions you control. Control markers are
used to indicate which side controls a region (no marker • The Initiative player levies first.
means uncontrolled).
• Levy is done by region and is optional.
1. Remove all Aggressor markers.
• The maximum number of Troops that can be levied
2. You may attempt to gain control of a region if it is in a region is the highest single rank (stars) among
occupied by one or more of your Nobles that is not your Nobles in that region.
Disgraced.
• Levied Troops must be attached to the Noble with
3. A Noble attempting to gain control of their own the fewest Troops (at the moment). Levied Troops
home region automatically succeeds. should be distributed so that all Nobles in the
4. Otherwise, roll a die - if the roll is less than or equal region have the same number of Troops attached,
to the rank (stars) of the highest ranked Noble in if possible (player’s choice if not).
the region, you gain control. • A given Noble can have up to 2 Troops per star.
5. If the roll fails, the region becomes uncontrolled (if If all Nobles have as many Troops as allowed, no
not so already). more can be levied.

6. Once a region comes under your control, it re- • Troops cannot be levied in London.
mains so until your opponent attempts to gain • Troops should be stacked under their attached No-
control of it. bles to clearly indicate who they belong to.
7. Only a 3-star Noble can gain control of London.
No roll is needed, control is automatic.

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Special Ops Issue #12

Control Example
Since the York player has Nobles in the North Midlands, they can attempt to gain control of that region. Since Richard is
a 2-star Noble, the York player will need to roll a “2” or less. They get lucky and roll a “1” and gain control of the North
Midlands.
The Lancaster player has John Talbot in the West Midlands, which is currently uncontrolled. However, since John was
Disgraced at the beginning of the Control Phase, he may not attempt to roll for control of the West Midlands.
Levy Example
Assuming the York player has the Initiative, they may
levy first. Since they control North Midlands they may
levy Troops in that region. Richard is the highest ranking
Noble and has 2 stars, so they can levy two Troops in
that region.
The first Troop will be attached to Edward Hastings,
since he only has one Troop (levied Troops must be
attached to the Noble with the fewest Troops first.) The
remaining Troop will be attached to Richard since he
only has three Troops and can have four attached to
him.
Once the Lancaster player is done, the York player may
levy Troops. Since the West Midlands is uncontrolled,
the Lancaster player may not attempt to levy Troops in
that region.

10.0 Tower of London 11.0 Placing Nobles

The side that controls London may put Nobles in the The players follow the sequence below for placing new
Tower of London Box on trial. Nobles on the map.
• The maximum number of Nobles that may be put 11.1 Noble Reinforcements
on trial is this turn’s Initiative number -2 (minus
The Initiative player draws four Nobles at random from
two). The controller of London may put any num-
the draw cup and places them face up to the side of the
ber of Nobles up to this number on trial, or none at
board. Starting with the non-Initiative player, the players
all.
alternate selecting Nobles until all four have been se-
• Friendly, enemy, or neutral Nobles are all eligible lected. If not enough Nobles remain in the cup, draw as
for trial. many as possible. Players must use the selection criteria
below for each of their selections.
• A given Noble can be tried only once a turn.
1. If available, players must select a friendly Noble
• A trial can be for either a pardon or execution. You
and place it on its face-up side in their Covert Box.
may attempt to pardon friendly or neutral Nobles
(regardless of who originally controlled them) or 2. If available, players must select a neutral Noble
execute enemy Nobles. and place it on its face-up side in their Covert Box.
• To pardon a Noble, roll a die. On 5-6, the Noble is 3. If available, players must select an enemy Noble
released and moved to your Covert Box. If Henry and place it on its face-up side in their opponent’s
VI is pardoned, he is moved to the Covert Box in Covert Box, or they may place it back in the draw
his infirm (face down) state. On a 1-4, no verdict is cup.
reached and the Noble remains in the Tower Box.
11.2 Placing Nobles
• To execute a Noble, roll a die and subtract 1. If the
Both players may play Nobles to the map from their Co-
roll is equal to or less than the Noble’s rank (stars),
vert Box, as follows.
no verdict is reached and the Noble remains in the
Tower Box. If greater, the Noble is executed and • As with campaigns, the Initiative player plays a No-
immediately eliminated. If the Noble was face up, ble first, then players alternate. The Initiative player
flip it and place it in its owner’s Covert Box (yours may play Nobles up to the original Initiative value,
if it was a neutral Noble). and the non-Initiative player one less.
• You immediately gain 2 VP for executing an enemy • Only Nobles in your Covert Box may be played to
3-star Noble. the map.

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 Special Ops Issue #12

• A Noble is played to its home region, regardless of 15.0 Credits

the region’s control status or current occupants. Original Design: Ikeda Yasutaka
If the Noble has a crown for its home region, it is
played to any region with a friendly Noble, or in Orignal Publisher: Tetsuya Makamura, Game Journal
a Friendly Foreign Area. When a Noble is played Japan
to the map, he is placed with 1 Troop attached to Developer: Scott Blanton
him.
Graphic Artist: Nicolás Eskubi
12.0 Victory Points
Heraldry Research: Richard Lindley
Victory Points (VPs) are earned each turn as follows.
English Translation: Scott Muldoon
• Gain VP as indicated in each region you control.
Proofreaders: Wray Ferrell, Hans Korting, Richard
• Lose 1 VP for each of your Nobles in exile (i.e. in a Lindley, Jeromey Martin
Friendly Foreign Area).
Playtesters: Peter Stein, Martin Sample, Wray Ferrell,
Both players compare their scores and move the VP Gary Phillips, Nick Richardson, and Brian Youse.
marker equal to the difference.

13.0 Game End and Victory

• At the end of any turn, if a side’s VP is at or above
15, that player wins.
• After 9 turns, the player with the most VPs wins.
• If after 9 turns VPs are tied, the player controlling
the most 3-star Nobles in friendly controlled re-
gions wins.
• If the players are still tied, neither player wins
(England falls into chaos and becomes a vassal of
France).

14.0 Henry VI
Henry VI was the King of England at the start of the Wars
of the Roses. Impacted by mental illness for several
years, his ability to rule the country was diminished. His
incapacitation and his inability to rule created a dispute in
the government and the Wars of the Roses began.
Henry VI can be in either a healthy or infirm state. Henry
VI is not flipped if he is killed in battle or executed, he is
removed from play.
• While Henry VI lives, each turn in this phase the
Lancaster player must roll a die. On 3-6, nothing
happens, but on 1-2, Henry VI’s status changes -
flip his counter from healthy to infirm or vice versa.
• If Henry VI is in the Tower of London, his status is
automatically set to infirm.
• While Henry VI is infirm, his 3-star rank cannot be
used for intrigue, gaining control, levy, or main-
taining control of London (as notated by the black
stars). While infirm he cannot move but he can
retreat.

WofE 8 © 2024 Multi–Man Publishing, LLC.