Here's the Ruckus

What is Here’s the Ruckus

Never Mind the Billhooks: Here’s the Ruckus, or just Ruckus, is a “medieval skirmish game of narrative-heavy tabletop battles” from Wargames Illustrated. It was designed by Mike Peters, with Wi’s James as ruleset editor.

You play a Captain in charge of a small retinue of warriors. Wargames Illustrated says the game “prioritises having fun over simulating warfare or seeking period accuracy,” though it’s easy to add historical realism if that’s what you’re after.

It’s inspired by Andy Callan’s Never Mind the Billhooks, but it isn’t an expansion for it. The rules stand on their own and you only need twelve figures a side. This version is set in the Wars of the Roses.

The first game was played in November 2022 at Bristol Independent Gaming. A year and a half later it came out as a free 32-page rules booklet bundled with Wargames Illustrated issue 437 (May 2024).

Mike Peters followed it up with Assassins and Templars: A Ruckus Game, which uses the same rules engine for skirmishes set during the Crusades.

How it plays

A small retinue. A standard Retinue is 3 Heroes and 9 Retainers: 3 Bills and 6 Bows. There are no points values, but the rules limit what you can take.
The Hero Deck runs the turn. Shuffle it and draw. A Hero card activates that Hero and the characters in their Spear. A Cunning Plan card means both players dice off, and the winner draws from the Cunning Plan deck. When one card is left, the turn ends.
Mishaps and Calamities. Risky actions call for a Risk Roll, and a failure brings a Mishap or, worse, a Calamity. The designer says the idea came out of the second-ever playtest.
Melee is fought to the finish. Each fight runs up to three rounds within the attacker’s activation. You roll a die for each attack, plus one if you’re Supported. Most characters hit on a 4+ in the first round and a 5+ after that. The defender can Fend, and a shooter can try to Evade.
Bows, crossbows, and handgonnes. Shooting hits on a 5+ at short range and 6+ at long. A longbow can move half and shoot once, or stand still and shoot twice. Crossbows and handgonnes are better against armour.
Divers Alarums! A deck of events shakes up each game, from hard going underfoot to peasants working the land who turn into an ambush.
Skills and campaigns. Heroes get random Skills based on their Prowess, drawn with a deck of playing cards. The campaign rules, published in Wargames Illustrated 438, are about developing your character and gaining Prestige. Mounted rules followed in issue 441.

How to start

Get the rules. The booklet came free with Wi437, which is now out of stock on the Wi store. Wargames Illustrated says WiPrime members can access Ruckus digitally.
Print the free resources. The Ruckus page has the Hero Deck, Cunning Plan and Divers Alarums! cards, a character sheet, tokens, skill tables, a retinue campaign sheet, a quick reference sheet, and two scenarios.
Or use playing cards. The FAQ says you can swap in a normal deck for the Cunning Plan and Divers Alarums! cards, which is how the game was developed.
Grab twelve figures a side. Mike Peters tells players to use whatever figures they have. Early players have run Robin Hood outlaws, Landsknechts, Swiss, and even samurai against ninjas.
Read the errata. The Freebie Errata 1.2 fixes a few rules and adds how to draw Skills in a one-off game, which the original booklet left out.