Loyaulte Me Lie - Bosworth Field, August 22, 1485

Loyaulte Me Lie is an introductory, tactical-level board game for two players simulating the battle of Bosworth Field, fought on August 22, 1485, which was the last significant battle of the War of the Roses. Playing pieces represent the "battles" of Henry Tudor, Richard the Third, Lord Stanley, and William Stanley. One player plays the Yorkist side and the other the Tudor side. There are twelve turns, each about 30 minutes of real time.

Loyalty may have bound Richard the Third but he lived in treacherous times and it was treachery that ended his life and his reign as king of England. That and perhaps poor tactical decisions. He died by all accounts bravely fighting to the last probably on the newly-discovered battle site in marshy ground called Fen Hole, not calling out 'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse', as Shakespeare imagined, but, in the words of a near contemporary chronicler: 'Treachery, treachery, treachery.'

After five years of searching, battlefield archaeologists have revealed that the actual site of the battle of Bosworth is on Alf Oliver’s farm, two miles away from Ambion Hill, where the Bosworth Visitor center was built. The crucial evidence, including badges of the supporters of both kings, sword mounts, coins and 28 cannonballs, was found in fields straddling Fen Lane in the Leicestershire parish of Upton, where no historian had looked before. In fact, more battle-related items have been found in that area than on any ancient battlefield in Europe. The new area is used in this game as the basis for the game map.

Even more dramatically, Richard III's body was found last August in a roughly-hewn grave, excavated from the site of the medieval Greyfriars friary of the city of Leicester, now a parking lot, about 12 miles from the newly discovered battlefield site. Mitochondrial DNA extracted from the bones was matched to Michael Ibsen, a Canadian cabinetmaker and direct descendant of Richard III's sister, Anne of York, and a second distant relative, who wished to remain anonymous. Archaeologists found evidence of ten wounds on the body, two to the head, which they believe were inflicted at or around the time of death. The head injuries, either of which would have been fatal, suggest the king had lost his helmet in the battle.

Features:

• Ranged Fire
  
• Melee Combat
  
• Block Movement Mechanic
  
• Field Cannon, Handgunners and Archers
  
• Charge and Shock Movement
  
• Cavalry Reaction Movement
  
• Stanleys/Northumberland Activation
  
• Mounted/Dismounted Men-at-Arms
  
• Displacement Retreat
  
• Commander Effects

Components:

• 22" x 17" Game Board
  
• 12-Page Rule Booklet
  
• 150 Thick, Direct-Printed, Laser-cut
  
• Double-Sided Counters
  
• 1 Player Reference Sheet