(adapted from a post xav made to rec.games.bolo)
This is not a strategy guide, so I will just give some basic tips to get you started.
Pill Wars are where the most heated bolo battles take place. Usually they will happen on the border between your territory and the enemy's. To get the most favorable setup for yourself early in the game, figure out where the war will most likely take place and set up your pills so that any pills the enemy places on the other side will be out of range of your base(s). Make sure you have as much ammo available as possible, and that you have plenty of space to move around behind your pillboxes.
Never use your pills to protect a coastal base. You need to be able to get behind your pills to defend them, and defending from deep sea is nearly impossible. Coastal bases can be invaluable to refuel from, but bad to war around.
Place your pillboxes in a more or less straight line along the battle front. Try to avoid setting up double takes for the enemy, and always build so that each pill is protected by at least one other. Use some of the more obscure set- ups detailed in this guide so that you can take enemy pills quickly if you have the opportunity. Do not send pillboxes past the enemy front unless you are prepared to lose them.
If you are losing a pill war, try pulling your pillboxes out and moving back (provided you have enough bases to support such a move). This will force them to move their large mass of pills and can often allow you to pick up a few more as they do.
Sometimes seven pillboxes in one area is no better than five. If you are a good pill war fighter, pull a couple back to protect your main fueling bases. Extra pills, placed badly because you have so many and you need them out of the way, will be quickly taken. Pull them back to use later, or just carry one for offensive fire power.
Patience is important. You don't have to rush in and grab that pill; you don't have to fix a dead one right away; you don't have to be the aggressor. You can often sit just off screen, let the enemy do what they want (and hopefully take some hits). Anger your other pills at the right time, let them die, and then make your move.
Be careful when killing enemy pills. Try not to use your pills as block squares as that is one pill down for the enemy. If you ever play with Smoke, he will NOT shoot a decoy if you're behind a pill. If you do use a pillbox to decoy behind, use one that is not closest to the enemy. That way, if it dies, a closer pillbox to the enemy will discourage them from trying to pick off your builder fixing it. Also, it is generally easier for the shooter to repair the pillbox being used for the decoy. The shooter can gauge the shots better, whereas the decoy is often busy not getting hit.
Anger one or more of your pills when you're taking an enemy pill. This will make it harder for them if they get in range, and stops them from simply driving in and picking it up instead of fixing it. Also, if for some reason you screw up and kill your own pillbox, you will have protection set up.
If you know your dead pill is being covered by the enemy, have a teammate drive around and harass / kill that person so you can fix it. Also, you can drive up close to the pill and release your man as you turn away. Your man will get there much quicker, catching the watching enemy off-guard. The enemy will have to shoot AS you drive up to hit your man. You can watch for this, and if he shoots, don't repair. You can force the enemy to waste ammo by doing this several times without fixing.
If one of the enemy pills is down and being covered by an ally, try taking another. If you do it near the dead one, there will be less pills to shoot at you when you go in to pick them up. If you take one further away, it will divide the enemy's attention, improving your chances to take the pill or kill a man.
Take shots for your partner. Even with angry pillboxes, you can grab a dead pill if your partner will draw fire from enemy pills until you get in.
If you have the advantage in a pill war, you can use it to stall. If only one teammate has a man, stall until the other men come back. That person can manage the pills while the others drive around to kill and harass the enemy. They spend time killing you instead of your pills, and you get your men back.
Also, if you have a large pillbox advantage, you can stall and have teammates take out their crucial bases. If they have less pills than you, they probably have had to sacrifice protecting their bases in order to try and hold off your pills. One careful defensive teammate can hold off 2 to 3 people while the others take out their supply line.
If you are the only teammate with a man, don't make any dangerous offensive maneuvers. Let the others rush in in dangerous situations, your job is to manage the pills. One pillbox is not worth your man, especially if no one else has one.
You don't need full armor to manage the pillboxes. You don't need full ammo to take one out. Get on and off that base quickly and back to the action. If you know you can take your time, then you can sit on the base as long as you like.
Often when one of your pills is dead, the enemy is so focused on watching you and angering their own pills to keep you from getting it, they might not notice your teammate coming from behind. Your ally can sometimes sneak in and fix the pill, or at least get the enemies pissed-off pills to fire on their masters.