The Famous Birmingham boys are 1 of the two extra gangs released for The Chicago Way by Great Escape Games during 2023, the other is the Bootleggers. So lets have a look at what the brummies’ bring to the game.
They are introduced as follows
From the harsh economic conditions of their bleak, industrial hometown of Birmingham, the Peaky Blinders bring a new type of street violence and organised crime from Small Heath to Chicago.
Peaky blinders – Gang sheet – Great escape games
With a distinctive dress style and their peaked flat caps; a love of fighting and a cunning network of contacts, protection rackets and gambling interests, the immigrant Peaky Blinders are slicing out a chunk of the the city for their own.
First up the Peaky Blinders get an extra model type, so have 6 to choose from
PRODIGAL SON – the defacto leader and ever present front man of the peaky blinders – comes with a Pistol and Shiv for free- and can be upgraded for a price to also have an SMG – as the figure does.
LOCAL HERO – the number 2 of the gang and an optional attendee – comes with a pistol and shiv for free.
PEAKY BLINDERS – at least 2 of the core gang are required – they come with a pistol and shiv for free. 1 can be provided with a Lewis Gun and any can be upgraded to Pump Action or Double Barrelled shotgun and shiv.
HOODLUMS – the wannabes and also runs – upto 4 of these can accompany the gang they come with either a Pistol and Shive or Rifle and Shiv for free.
STOOGES – these are the new model type and are unarmed, unsurprisingly there are special rules for them.
DRIVER – the last but not least as with all other The Chicago Way gangs we have the driver – the only difference is this one comes with a pistol and shiv.
The Peaky Blinders introduce 3 new pieces of equipment and the concept of the stooge.
- SHIV – adds +1 to the models H2H characteristic – and this time it is clarified that this has not been included in the base stats.
- LEWIS GUN – this is a shorter ranged version of the BAR (whose rules are available 4 free on the Great Escape Games Site) – but with the added bonus of not having the “Hard to keep on target” rule and getting a +1 to hit a point blank range – but also being classified as “Heavy” and as such limiting the carrier to 2 move actions a turn, and requiring 2 actions to reload/unjam.
- SMG – shares the range of pistol but also comes with the special rule “automatic fire (2)” which is like the Tommy Guns “automatic fire” rule but only has 2 shots at point blank range per shoot action. It also suffers from the number of shooting action by range band as the Tommy Gun does.
Now on to the special rules
- SCAPEGOATS – This is the rule that explains the stooges option. It allows the play to place additional models, who in reality are unarmed, but the model used should not enable the opponent to identify which they are. These can be selected for every 2 other characters in the gang. They are used as decoys/look outs to distract the opponent – and if an enemy character comes within 10cm of one of them the Peaky Blinder play must identify if they are a stooge.
- LAY OF THE LAND – once per game, before any model has been activated, the peaky blinder player may choose to replace any number of their initiative cards. They decide which one to remove and then deal replacements blind from the their deck as normal.
But what are their Ace, King, Queen, Jack cards?
- ACE – “Red Right Hand” – this card is played when a character with a pistol declares they are shooting. For that turn each shooting action result may be re-rolled once.
- KING – “In the Bleak Midwinter” – playable when one of the Peaky Blinders is put out of action. Once played a card is drawn from the Peaky Blinders deck – if it is even (with Queen and Ace counting as even) then the model ends the turn with 3 under fire markers – otherwise it goes out of action.
- QUEEN – “Trust only Kin” – this can be played at any time and when played allows the Peaky Blinder player to swap one of the Gangs position with that of another member of the Gang.
- JACK – “By Order of the Peaky Blinders” – this card can be played at anytime – and for the rest of the turn it is played in all Peaky Blinder gang members get +1 to H2H scores.
Now I love the idea of the stooges and would need to try them in a game to decide if they are actually worth their cost. Lay of the land could be a very powerful action – especially if you know that most of the low value cards are already out, or even if you are in a position where you wish to be reactive so need more low value cards and all you have out are high value cards. These are the Renegade Indians of The Chicago Way – very skewed to H2H.
I am assuming that as it is not stated overtly on the rule sheet and as the Peaky Blinders use the Moonshiners for campaigns they also get the open sided lorry as their vehicle.
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