March with Alexander the Great's Macedonians against the mighty empire of the Achaemenid Persians at Issus in 333BC! Experience the brutality of a Dark Ages struggle between Romano-British warriors and Early Saxon armies in AD495! Re-fight some of the bloodiest battles of the ancient and medieval worlds, using Neil Thomas's fully illustrated new book. Neil brings an authentic historical perspective to wargaming. A must for novice and veteran wargamers alike.

A fun and practical new approach to wargaming that lets you complete a game in about an hour—includes rule sets and scenarios for most popular periods. One of the biggest problems facing wargamers is finding the time to actually play. Most commercially available games require several hours to set up and see to a conclusion; some can even take a whole day or weekend to complete. Apart from time, lack of space can also keep wargamers from enjoying their favorite pastime. In One-hour Wargames, veteran gamer and rule-writer Neil Thomas has addressed both problems. Now it is practical to play a satisfying game in around an hour on a normal dining table or living room floor. The book contains 8 all-new sets of very simple rules for various periods—from Ancient to WW2—and thirty stimulating scenarios which can be played using any of them. All the rules and scenarios are intended to be played on a 3ft x 3ft battlefield. The rules only require a small number of miniatures, so this really is an ideal way for new gamers, or veterans trying a new period, to get started with minimal investment of time and money. Also ideal for a quick game in the evening with a friend. Also included are sections on campaigns and solo games.

Although the rise in computerized wargaming has transformed some aspects of the hobby, the traditional table-based wargame continues to go from strength to strength.

The aim of the rules was to provide the simplest possible set of wargaming rules that retained the feel and generalship of ancient and medieval warfare. The rules were about command decisions not the detail of combat. The average player would have memorized the rules by half way through their first battle, but tactical skill, especially with the use of light troops, took longer. Battles typically lasted less than an hour, allowing multiple games to be played in a single day. The DBA rules include the basic battle rules, campaign rules, suggested mini-campaigns, over three hundred army lists, rules for larger armies and six player campaigns. The original rules are supported by an introduction by Phil Barker and chapters on: Reflecting on the development of DBA. An introduction to tactics using DBA by Martin Smith. Applying DBA to historical battles, Recreating the Battle of Zama in 202 BC using DBA by Phil Steele. DBSA and DBA 1.0 Also included are all four of the original army lists

Re-fight some of the bloodiest battles of the ancient and medieval worlds! Seasoned wargamer and author Neil Thomas brings historical perspective to the hobby with a description and interpretation of significant military developments from 3,000BC to AD1500. Wargaming is the simulation of accurate historical battles using miniature figures to fight over three dimensional terrain, their movement and combat being regulated by clearly defined rules. Neil Thomas' new book provides specific coverage of ancient and medieval wargaming, thanks to its division into biblical, classical, Dark Age and medieval sections. Each section has its own set of rules and much expanded army lists. The wargamer gains additional perspective from data panels containing facts about weaponry, personalities and chroniclers, and quotations from original document sources. Useful suggestions for further reading are also included, while battle reports in each section provide tactical insights for both novice and veteran wargamers.

Field of Glory is a new historical miniature tabletop wargaming rules system for anyone interested in recreating the battles of Rome, Greece or the Holy Land, among others. This series is intended to give both beginner and expert wargamers everything they need to play the battles of ancient and medieval eras on their tabletops. Tested and created by wargaming experts, this series includes a rulebook detailing the gaming system, and companion army lists which help players select and build their historically accurate army with the relevant units or troop types they want to take onto the field of battle. The striking Field of Glory rulebook includes color coding for easy navigation, clear photographs of miniatures (taken by Wargames Illustrated editor Duncan McFarlane) and diagrams (showing rules examples, troop placements, scale considerations and more), detailed Osprey artwork, a guide to figure painting, an overview of the history of this miniature world of warfare, organization tables and a background to the men who fought on the ground. Containing two ready to use army lists, this rulebook can either stand alone and be used for immediate gaming, or can be combined with the companion army list volumes to recreate a very diverse range of conflicts in each period of the eras covered. Published in partnership with Slitherine Software Ltd, a developer and publisher of historical strategy games, Field of Glory already has the table-top gaming community buzzing.

It's been quite a few years now since Bryan Ansell first put pen to paper to produce the initial draft of The Rules With No Name: these rules have been playtested, developed and enjoyed many, many times since then and it is a travesty that they have not been seen on bookshelves until now. Very little editing to the original text was required, but I have added a painting and terrain guide for completeness and sincerely hope that Bryan likes the way his rules have been laid out and presented. Here's what Bryan originally wrote in his introduction to the playtest version of these rules all those years ago: These are intended primarily as a straightforward, simple set of Western gunfight rules, suitable for a quick, cheerful game, possibly involving a large number of participants. However, we wanted to include a degree of tactical skill, involvement with the rule system and an element of tension and surprise. We hope that we have succeeded in doing so without making the game at all puzzling or complicated. Consumption of alcoholic beverage and high-carbohydrate snacks and the playing of these rules are not necessarily mutually exclusive. We have tried not to introduce a lot of fussy rules to cover every eventuality, so if you are playing with large groups of strangers, you might like to use a gamesmaster; a god-like figure whose word is law. Fortunately, even the most competitive gamers don't come to a Western gunfight looking for an argument, so the way should be clear for a good time to be had by all. However, for those of you who prefer a more sophisticated game, especially if you intend to run a campaign, with the extra level of detail and involvement that familiarity permits, there is a selection of optional rules for you to mix and match according to your tastes. Set in the time of the American Old West where life was cheap and survival was the order of the day, these rules are written in a very conversational style that are a joy to read as well as play, and there are many suggestions by Bryan as to how the players can choose to extend and adapt the rules to suit their own levels of skill and/or to simply increase their sense of enjoyment. In this fast paced game all facets of life and the characters in the Old West as depicted in those many Hollywood and Italian 'Cowboy' films are covered; from the hardened gunslinger and town drunk to the law abiding owner of the General Store; all have to hone and develop their particular skills over the course of the game... or end up having that eternal slug of whisky in the saloon in the sky! So, get out those toy soldiers, strap on that six gun and get yourself a whole lot of pleasure by having a game with friends using these action-packed and fun- filled rules.

The Dark Age of Britain, from the middle of the 4th century to the end of the 8th, was a time of violence and warfare, when charismatic warlords such as the fabled King Arthur could gather together armies and carve out their own kingdoms. With this new set of wargames rules, players can take on the role of these warlords and command their own armies on the tabletop. Written by the author of the popular Glutter of Ravens rules set, Dux Bellorum is an element-based system, where each base of figures represents 50 fighting men. Each player has a specific number of points with which to construct his force and can choose a Late Roman, Romano-British, Welsh, Saxon, Pictish, Irish, or Sea Raider army, amongst others. The game is then played out following a set of simple, fast-paced rules. A completely self-contained gaming system, Dux Bellorum is perfect for gamers who are looking for a way into fighting Dark Age battles without investing a lot of time or money in larger rulesets.

A set of simple, fast-playing rules for wargaming the conflicts that re-shaped Europe in the period 1815-78. This important, yet often-neglected period includes the Crimean War, the Italian Risorgimento, the wars of Bismarck's Prussia against Denmark, Austro-Hungary and France and the Russo-Turkish war. Tactically it saw armies struggle to adapt Napoleonic doctrines to incorporate important technological advances such as breech-loading rifles, steel breech-loading cannon and the first machine guns. The book includes brief analysis of the essential strategic and tactical military developments of the period, a set of elegantly simple rules which are fast-playing and easy to learn, yet deliver realistic outcomes. A selection of generic scenarios, covering diverse situations such as flank attacks, pitched battles and meeting engagements, is supported by army lists for 28 different armies. There are also 12 historical scenarios, ranging from the Battle of the Alma in the Crimean War to Sedan in 1870, the decisive battle of the Franco-Prussian War, each with historical background, deployment map, orders of battle and any special rules for that engagement. Useful appendices include a guide to further reading, an overview and price guide to the many scales and ranges of figures available, and a selection of useful addresses for the gamer.

He described his rules-writing philosophy as simply ""It is my aim to produce the most accurate and playable rules I possibly can"" The WRG Ancients rule series were both the first rule books professionally printed and the first universal rule set. They went through 7 editions and were the standard ancient wargames rules from 1969 until replaced by DBM in 1993. This reprint includes the classic Introduction to ancient warfare The Airfix Guide to Ancient Wargaming by Phil Barker. Advice on tactics, Guide to sources, How ancient wargaming began, Sample army lists The complete WRG 6th edition rules for simulating every aspect of ancient and medieval warfare, from the battlefield to full scale sieges and shipboard fighting. The History of Wargaming Project is edited by John Curry. It aims to present the very best wargaming books and rules to a modern audience.