DBA Day of Battle

Last Saturday, February 18th, some local members of De Bellis Antiquitatis Carolinas, a facebook group, gathered at my home to play DBA 3.0 for a few hours. I will have to write a special post in the near future to extol the many reasons why I love De Bellis Antiquitatis, but suffice to say it is one of my favorite wargames.

Beefier than 2.2, with a higher price tag to match. But worth every penny.

I was concerned after attending Siege of Augusta in January, and Historicon in 2015, that interest in DBA might have waned since the last time I had played in a tournament in Glendale CA; 2006, or 2007. Some of this may have to do with the split in the DBA community over the development of 3.0, but more likely it is that in the age of Flames of War, Saga, Bolt Action, etc., DBA does not have the flashy commercialism and exposure that the newer, more popular games do.

Charles runs my Republican Romans vs Robert with Charles' Carthos. Elephants are one of those special troop types that ancients wargaming offers.

 So I knew that if we were to continue to enjoy this great game, especially as I believe this edition is the best yet produced, we would have to organize our own game event, and invite as many people as we could. We hope to do this at least every 2-3 months, and generate interest in building armies and encouraging others to join in. I believe that DBA is one of those games that requires the players to spread the word and help it succeed.

So I began furiously assembling the materials to host a few games in my garage, in case no one else brought their own gear. Of the six of us who were there, four of us had our own armies, but I had plenty to share. What I did not have was more than one game mat, so I bought some felt, some elastomeric patching compound, and a few cans of spray paint. For the cost of about $25, I had enough to make one 2'x2' standard mat, one 3'x4' mat for a big battle scenario, plus a water way.

 

We met in agreeable weather in my garage, with six of us in attendance. Jason up from Columbia, SC, while Robert, Nicholas, and Sean came down from Charlotte, NC, and Charles from Fort Mill. We casually determined pairings, then set to with our first games. Sean was the only one who had never played before, so I made sure he was paired with Jason, who is a veteran DBA player. My first game was against Nicholas, as I had promised to pitch my Hittite empire army against his Mycenean Greeks. Charles and Robert faced off with my Polybian Romans vs Charles' newly-painted Carthaginians. Charles had been so jazzed about playing DBA again, that he painted his entire army in about a week!

My Hittites, trying to break out into the open plains to take on the Greeks beyond.

In the second round, I faced off with Robert, pulling out my Shang Chinese and Koryo Dynasty Korean. These are 2.0 list armies, and definitely the most exotic in my collection. For those who complain that 3.0 has made their 2.0 armies obsolete, the figures work just fine with 3.0. We simply used the figures on had, and had a great time.

In the third round, we moved into the high middle ages with Hundred Years War vs Medieval French, me against Sean. By this round, Robert was playing against Jason, using Jason's Arabs and Rajputs. Nicholas and Charles mirrored our game, also with HYW English vs. French.

The wide variety of armies used at the event showcased the different character of each army, and how these differences affect the tactics to use. Next time I will use my Parthians to test the rules for rear support for light horse.

The plan was to finish up the day with a final big battle game, 3 on 3, but we ran out of time, and it was raining and becoming uncomfortably cool. If I was hopeful that our event would generate sufficient interest to play this game on a regular basis, this was confirmed in the next week as facebook postings and messages among the attendees started to share their plans to buy the rule book, collect and paint armies, etc. Since interest seems to be focused on republican Rome and the Macedonian Empire, I may have to look into putting together a campaign map that would allow us to play a simple campaign at one of our future events.

Siege of Augusta 2017

Only last month, I attended the Siege of Augusta wargames convention for the very first time. This event ran from Friday evening to Sunday of MLK weekend. I had requested Friday off from work, and so I headed down to Augusta from Rock Hill, SC.

I went primarily to take part in the DBA 3.0 tournament, but also to support what is, to me at least, a local convention. Even with some traffic issues on the way, it only took about two hours. This was comparable to the distance between San Diego and Los Angeles, but without the headaches of driving in Los Angeles. Since I left in mid-afternoon, I made it to the venue by 5 or 6 pm.. This was enough time to wander around the hall, admire the tables, and talk to a few people.

One of the impressive tables for the Bolt Action event. I have so far resisted the lure of this game, but perhaps I can dip my toe in...just in time for the game to lose popularity.

As expected this convention was smaller than Historicon, and most of the action was in the central ballroom, with a Flames of War tournament on Saturday in one of the smaller rooms across the hall, and a Kings of War tournament in yet another room to the side. While waiting for my friends Charles and Robert to arrive from Charlotte, I wandered the main hall, taking pictures of the lovely tables, and chatting with a few of the players.

The local garrison of the FFL outpost guards a truck carrying the latest discovery from the forbidden tombs of the valley of the kings. A scenario for TSATF with hordes of undead taking their revenge.

One of the games I stopped to watch was a skirmish game between a husband-wife duo who were playing Warmachine/Hordes. As a sci-fi/fantasy game, it is not something I care to invest in, but I could admire the paint jobs and the enthusiasm they had for their game.

Another impressive setup for a game I would have no interest in collecting for (Malifaux?). But I sure can appreciate the work which went into this presentation.

I also took time to peruse the dealer displays along the walls, and considered where to spend my $5 in "Siege Bucks", a sort of refund and incentive to spend even more money at the con. The trouble is, I already had a lot of projects underway without adding more to the pile. While I understand that shopping is one of the main attractions at conventions, this can lead to overstuffed closets if you don't have a plan to use your purchases soon after you bring your loot home. So I passed on buying terrain items, or more figures, even some Gripping Beast plastics that I could see using for a second SAGA army. I ended up buying an un-punched copy of Avalon Hill's Tobruk for $15, or $10 out of pocket. Tobruk had been my first ever 'real' wargame back in 1978. $10 for a little nostalgia is not bad.

One of the handful of naval games at Siege: the littoral terrain made the game more interesting than the typical scenario on the high seas.

The DBA tournament took place on Saturday morning, at 9:00 am. Unfortunately, the start time had not been published ahead of time, and only three of us showed up! With the son of organizer Tom Thomas, we barely had enough to run a three-round tournament. I lost the first game against David Crenshaw with his HYW English vs my Carolingian Franks, 2-5 (which included the loss of my general). In the second round, I won against my buddy Charles' Spartan hoplite army, 5-2. In the third game, my army was clobbered by Tom Thomas Jr's Burgundian Ordonnance, 0-5.

While DBA is always fun, the poor turnout, and being located out in the lobby was a disappointment. The unpublished event time may have had much to do with it, but I didn't hear from anyone else at the con who came to play and missed it. Historicon in 2015 had 6 people involved in 15mm, and 8 in the 28mm event, but this is a far cry from the huge crowds reported to be at Historicon in the late 90's and early 2000's. Even way out in Los Angeles in those days, we'd have at least 20-25 people playing. It was exciting to meet other players outside your local circle, and see what people have painted, and what scenery they had made for the game.

The only other game I signed up for was a 40mm French and Indian game. I was on the French side, running regulars and Canadian militia, while my teammates ran French Marines and three units of natives. It was a beautiful game, with beautifully painted figures, and Bob Moon, the gentleman running the game, was well-prepared with player equipment, dice, and reference charts. I understand that he ran the same scenario two other times at the con using a different set of rules. From what I could tell, everyone had a good time, and the game ran very smoothly. For the price of admission to the con, I could enjoy a 'big game' without investment in all the scenery and figures. It also reminded me why I like to play on smaller tables. Since there were some 8-10 people involved, the table had to be big, maybe 8'x10' or so, but having to lean way over a wide table can be bad for the back.

Hey diddle diddle, right up the middle. But as the only regulars in the attacking force, I couldn't exactly skulk through the woods, could I?

The British regulars awaiting my regulars, ready to shoot them down. The upper floor was also manned by provincial infantry with muskets. Imagine if he had had one MG42 up there!

After this, I headed home, so I didn't get to play in any other games. I did however, get to catch up with Jerry F. and Kim A., a couple of acquaintances from Charlotte, and meet a new friend, Nick, who would come to our DBA game day in February. I plan to go again next year, and will probably stay through Sunday morning to get into one or two more games, or host one of my own. If I am ready to start another project, I may even buy a few things there. But more likely I will go just for the games and meeting new people.