DBA Special ... II/49 Marian Roman (10mm)

 

As promised, here is a standard 12 element army from the Pharsalus game - and as used in the last set of general games ...

The legionaries are nearly all from New Line Design but the figures are otherwise a mix of A.I.M, Magister Militum and Pendraken.

 

 

(Gallic, Spanish, Macedonian, Greek or similar auxiliary cavalry (Cv) or javelin throwing) Numidian, German, Illyrian or similar Light Horse (LH)

 

(10mm Legionaries from Newline.  Yes I do like these figures)

 

 

 

 

(Numidian elephant, wild Gauls, cavalry or requisitioned city bolt-shooters)

 

2018 so far - some more DBA

 

No update on what's going on round here would be complete without the local DBA games that we use to keep our ancients collection in use and fill in the odd Monday night.

We have DBA armies in most scales but usually play either in 15mm or 1:72 ...  but I do like the slightly more 'proper battle' look of 10mm (on standard 40 wide bases) ...

Here's a typical evening from a week or so ago ...

Game 1 ... 

My Goths took on Treb's Byzantines ... both 15mm armies had been stood down for a while so it was good to get them fighting.  I think Belisaruius was a bit slow to come up from reserve.  It didn't go well.

Game 2 ...

 

Treb's  15mm Burmese and Khmer ... this was the start of our conversation.  I recently played with and lost with Burmese at the Northern Cup.  I got the Khmer this time.  The Burmese still lost.

Spectacular Irregular figures ...

 

Game 3: Roman Civil War

 

This is my 10mm Pharsalus set respun as a 'by the book' 12v12 DBA table.

Treb rolled a 1 as defender so the plough he assumed would be irrelevant wasn't.

 

(10mm DBA ... Marian Roman)

I thought I had this one as Caesar ... Pompey let the muddy ploughed slow his flanks so ended up with is centre over-exposed (or so I thought).  I felt ready to pounce.

But, notwithstanding some early successes, I struggled to make real capital out of the advantages (DBA can be like that) and eventually Treb got into a winning position ...

 

(Legionary slogging action)

It was a good game.  romans are hard to beat ... even with Romans.

See what I mean about the extra sense of mass 10mm can get you ... 

Also out and about recently ...

 

(Vikings)

 

(Pre Feudal Scots) 

 

(Medieval Germans) 

All 15mm armies.

We usually collect armies in battle related pairs.

19th May, Northamptonshire

 
After a while in the planning, on the 19th May, we played the Shedquarters Paraitakene game with Basic Impetus.

The game was played with Trebian's classic 1/72 plastic Hellenistics (specially expanded since the playtests to provide both armies) ... and I am sure you will be able to follow the thinking and chat on Wargaming For Grownups ...

 

Here, I'll post a few pictures, comment that I think Impetus better suits Medieval games  ... comment that I like Basic Impetus but that our Paraitakene game was so blighted by wild die rolling that it was difficult, at times, to hold the narrative together.

 

(Basic Impetus: 3 javelins chucked with little hope at Eumenes' Companion Cavalry) 

... which is fine.  There were some amendments ... evading was cleaned up (and played out very sensibly ... well done, Treb.), the elephants were toned down (and the Silver Shields improved a bit).

 

(Paraitakene: the hotly contested Eumenid left ... elephants rout)

A lovely game but not the most historical when viewed alonside the games at Bletchley.

 

(Paraitakene: the Eumenid centre)

Time to get your favourite game represented. 

The main 2018 BattleDay report.

The astute will recognise the date - yes we were 'Royal Wedding Dodgers' ..

12th - 13th May, Milton Keynes

MEETING THE PUBLIC OUT SHOPPING 

Yes ... as 2018 rushes by, last weekend was spent in the middle of a shopping centre meeting the public as exhibitors at MKWS's unique free wargames show.

 

At this time of year we combine up as The Naseby Project, The Battlefields Trust, Northampton Battlefields Society and The Society of Ancients ... basically historical wargaming and battlefields history.   And we hope to get people interested.

Although politicians, news organisations, pundits and statisticians institutionally ignore it, this is the kind of thing that interests people.   People love their heritage and, in all the shows and events we do, I've yet to meet a member of the public that didn't care - and, where heritage is under threat, who didn't think 'something should be done'.

 

(Naseby Battlefield displayed at Campaign 2018)

So it's important we get out there and let them know what is going on.  People care.  Mostly, though, they just don't know.

 

(The Society of Ancients display at Campaign 2018)

For the SoA we took along the Tony Bath 'flats' game (which hasn't been out for a while and which hasn't been to Milton Keynes before) ... the repsonse suggested it was a good choice. 

 

 

(the figures in this game are mostly by Phil Barker with some by Tony Bath and some by Deryck Guyler)

 

(Celtic cavalry in horned helmets and surprising colours from the brush of Tony Bath)

 

(Elephants and ... err ...)

 

(... more elephants)

 

The best known version of the Bath wargame is, of course, in Donald Featherstone's classic guide - if you don't have a copy it is generally available second-hand (usually the prices are a snip) or John Curry has done a reprint.

For Northampton Battlefields Society we took along the 1460 Participation Game.

 

(Northampton 1460 at Campaign: Graham gets the shoppers wargaming)

 

Of course a lot of what we do is getting people interested by encouraging them to handle reproduction weapons and equipment, pose for selfies (and, apparently, talk to Imperial Stormtroopers!)

 

And talk to people ...

  

 

Mike, Peter (in the archer's garb) and Corin came along on the Sunday and increased our level of expertise

 

 

It's a nice event, and at times we were quite busy.  Which is encouraging.

 

(the battlefields societies and Society of Ancients at Campaign 2018)

Out and about during my breal I caught up with some familiar faces ...

 

(Lynne on the DL Books stand - a cornerstone of the Campaign show)

There's always a competition here ...

 

(Campaign 2018: wargaming the BHGS way)

 

... and some other games to distract you ...

Well done to all of them.

Campaign is probably the most important show on the wargames calendar.  It is the only one I know which really tries, heat on sleeve, to get people interested.  Support them.  Come next year.  Run a game.  Meet and talk to people.

Here are some links:

MKWS

The Society of Ancients

The Battlefields Trust

Northampton Battlefields Society

The Naseby Project

The British Historical Games Society

28th April, Newark Showground

 

Hammerhead and the Northern Cup 

So, ordinarily, this would be late Feb/early March ... but that was the big freeze and the Police shut Newark to traffic.  But the show must go on - and it did: at the end of April.

In addition to playing in the DBA event and presenting the Society sponsored Cup, I was asked to support the tournament with a Participation Game version of DBA ... and there was also the show.

So this report will have 3 parts.

 (Pharsalus ... the BattleDay DBA Participation Game)

The Game, the Cup and the Show.

 

Pharsalus 48 BC a Double DBA Game 

Details of the Double DBA were published in the History of Wargaming DBA 2.2 reprint (Zama) but I'll post an updated version here in due course (as V3 is a little different to earlier versions) ...

Essentially each player has 2 armies deployed one behind the other.  The front army is 'expendable and may be used to batter through the other player's front army or play for time or manoeuvre for advantage.  These armies will ultimately be withdrawn.

The rear army is the reserve, and the battle between the reserves is for keeps.  The winning reserve army wins the game.

We'll get back to that in a minute.

The DBA Northern Cup 

The Northern Cup plays over 6 rounds with randomly selected scenarios between historical enemies  on imaginary preset terrain.

Here are this year's boards: 

I had variable success over the six games ... no duplicates ... I won some - but mostly I lost the others.

I had the army right in front of the viewer.

(The 2018 DBA Northern Cup: 6 games from Phil's point of view)

I really liked those Classical Indians.

 

(DBA Classical Indian)

 

Nice armies, Tony ...

OK ... let's have a quick wizz around the show ..

Hammerhead Show

Naval looks like it's going to be a thing this year.

I really liked this one where the ships stand on stilts and the subs cruise around beneath them.  A good idea I think - and well executed.

 

But there's more ..

 

(more from Hammerhead - and, yes, that carrier game was also at Salute)

Back in the DBA zone, here are some closeups of Pharsalus:

The armies are 10mm figures.  Most of Caesar's infantry are by Newline Designs.  A welcome addition.

Pompey's foot are the AIM/Chariot figures from my Republicans, and the cavalry on both sides is a mix ... the above plus Magister Militum, Pendraken and a few Adler and Baggage Train for variety.

 

They are on 40mm frontages ... basically 10mm figures on 15s basing.

I really like the panoramic look you can get with 10mm.

 

(DBA Pharsalus in 10mm ... Pompey's vastly superior cavalry suges forward on the open flank)

  

 ( DBA Pharsalus in 10mm ...the infantry close)

 

 

( DBA Pharsalus in 10mm ...Pompey's lavish and well-defended camp)

Winners and Losers

Everyone's a winner, of course (they're playing with toy soldiers, afterall!)

But here are some positions ... Simon 3rd and Phil J runner-up ...

West Wind presented the prizes and generous shopping  vouchers.  I presented the Society of Ancients DBA Northern Cup.  Drum roll ... to ... Martin Myers.

 

... and then we all had our picture taken.