CHIVALRY AT BAY
"As God may help, it appears to me that all the flower and honor of chivalry is there, most wisely and expertly drawn up.”
-- John Chandos, before the Battle of Auray (29 September 1364)
The Hundred Years War (1337 to 1453) was a dynastic struggle between the English house of Plantagenet and the French house of Valois for control of the French throne. Armies from across Europe would ally with these families, spreading combat as far from Gascony as Scotland and Portugal. Chivalry rose and fell on the backs of personalities like the Black Prince, Charles the Bad, and Pedro the Cruel, fought over battlefields at Creçy, Poitiers, and Agincourt. By the end of this period, the military code of chivalry would be in ashes and from those would be born the nations of England and France.
Chivalry At Bay is a low to medium complexity game depicting many of the individual battles that made up the Hundred Years War. Players control armies involved in each conflict that attempt to drive their opponent from the field of battle. Each battle can be completed in roughly two hours, allowing several battles to be played in a single sitting. The game takes several novel approaches toward simulating these eighteen individual battles:
- LA CAPELLE (HYPOTHETICAL) - 23 October 1339
- SAINT-OMER - 26 July 1340
- MORLAIX - 30 September 1342
- AUBEROCHE - 21 October 1345
- BLANCHETAQUE - 24 August 1346
- CREÇY - 26 August 1346
- NEVILLE’S CROSS - 17 October 1346
- CASSEL - 8 June 1347
- BÉTHUNE - 13 June 1347
- POITIERS - 19 September 1356
- COCHEREL - 16 May 1364
- AURAY - 29 September 1364
- NAJERA - 3 April 1367
- PONTVALLAIN - 4 December 1370
- ROOSEBEKE - 27 November 1382
- ALJUBARROTA - 14 August 1385
- HUMBLETON HILL - 14 September 1402
- AGINCOURT - 25 October 1415
Rather than the typical hex-based movement system, Chivalry At Bay uses a map that his broken up into three individual columns (or "battles" to use the historical term), each of which is made up of five "ranks" ranging from a friendly rear area, to and advance area, central area, through the enemy advance and rear areas. Units move backwards and forwards through these areas to more accurately simulate the type of movement that took place historically as waves of knights and men-at-arms advanced and were thrown back by enemy defenders (such as the feared English bowmen). Special terrain tiles may be placed in specific areas to more accurately simulate the ground over which the armies fought.
Combat is a simple process involving a "buckets-of-dice" system where "hits" on enemy units are based upon a unit's ability rating. Units range from lowly levies to the cream of chivalry, the French knight. Also represented are long bowmen, crossbowmen, men-at-arms, bill and pikemen, and light cavalry. Units that take hits may withdraw towards their friendly areas or hold their position and be ground down by the enemy onslaught. Units that have sustained enough damage may rout from the field!
The core of the game system is a deck of action cards. Each card provides a random number of command points that army leaders use to activate units on the battlefield to advance into engagement or withdraw before they're destroyed. The number of cards a player has available is based upon the quality of the army leadership. Several of these cards also allow the opportunity for players to "purchase" temporary army enhancements such as increased unit ratings or combat bonuses or even events that can shift the momentum of a battle.
In addition to the eighteen historical battles depicted, Chivalry At Bay provides players the ability to quickly and easily create their own custom armies to experiment with tactics and fight out battles on their own terms.
From La Capelle to Agincourt, relive the blood and glory of the Hundred Years War with Chivalry At Bay!
SUN OF YORK OWNERS! This game is a sequel of sorts to Sun of York, by GMT Games. Owners of that game can use the fully mounted map board and game pieces from Chivalry at Bay to bring your Sun of York game alive! Now you can finally have that compact table top experience for the Wars of the Roses you’ve been asking for.
Thanks!
Mike Nagel
