Beschreibung
Blood Red Roses is a simple though slightly unorthodox tabletop wargame primarily intended for two players to fight battles representative of the Wars of the Roses. It concentrates its attention at the level of the commanders and their wards, the major organisational divisions of armies at the time. Evidence for how battles of the period were fought is scant and sometimes contradictory. Aiming to accommodate as many differing perspectives as possible, the game takes a somewhat abstract approach in both its perspective and mechanisms.

Unless you choose to construct a scenario of your own design, the game presents a battle situation representative of those fought in the wars. The game generates the composition of your forces as, having issued a summons to battle, real-life commanders could not be sure precisely whom among their supporters would respond nor what forces they would bring. You will organise your armies mimicking the historical amalgamation of smaller contingents into the larger period-groupings of vaward, mainward, rearward and reserve, determining the size, composition and resolve of your wards.

Once deployed your troops primarily focus on the enemy that is in front of them, most having no opportunity to out-manoeuvre their opponents. Instead, you concentrate on the manner of your troops’ approach towards their enemy. You do this by assigning your wards one of a number of different ‘battle stances’. These stances dictate the options for movement and combat currently available to each. Some stances are more ‘aggressive’ than others and emphasise to differing degrees swift or purposeful movement and hand-to-hand combat whilst others are ‘less aggressive’ emphasising more measured movement and effective shooting. Stances can and should be changed as the battle progresses and you must consider the interplay of your stances with those of your opponent when striving for advantage. Bear in mind that having your wards on the desired stances at the appropriate times will not always be possible!

Neither the scale of the miniatures used nor the manner in which they are based has any importance to play of the game. The only consideration is that the various troop types should be readily distinguishable from one another. Each base or element of figures may represent as many real-life combatants as you wish it to as the abstract nature of the game makes a strict interpretation of numbers irrelevant. The game comprises a rulebook, a separate play-sheet and 72 bespoke playing cards that are primarily used to generate the opposing armies.

Winner of the Paul Morris Prize 2024 for innovative wargames.

—description from the designer