B'Hoys!

B'hoys! is a unique war game based on the popular history classic, The Gangs Of New York, by Herbert Asbury, and now in it's improved 3rd Edition from The (Virtual) Armchair General. B'hoys! (as the Irish lads referred to themselves) recreates the brawls and battles that dominated pre-Civil War New York City for some thirty years. The majority of Gang members (the original "Gangsters") were largely Irish immigrants who brought their real or imagined war against the English with them to America. At odds with the Protestant Establishment that ran the city, underemployed, and without real prospects, they formed societies that mirrored their fears and frustrations. Among the many pastimes of these Gangsters was street fighting. Scuffles between rival individuals could escalate to their respective Gangs, and it didn't take much to start a brawl, which sometimes exploded into full scale rioting. Merely being on the wrong street could start the fists, boots, brickbats, and bullets flying. Such meetings could involve a handful at first, then swell to thousands of men, women, and children engaged in total riot. It was a time now almost forgotten, and unimaginable over a century after the facts, but it remains an amazing chapter in American History. Just reading the rules will give a remarkable picture of the times and personalities that shaped the growth of New York, as well as the other great cities of the Eastern United States.