The Society of Ancients is a long-established international amateur society for the promotion of the study of ancient and medieval military history and wargaming the period 3000 BC to 1500 AD. It is run by volunteers for the benefit of its worldwide membership.
The Society publishes a bi-monthly journal, Slingshot, containing a wide range of items related to Ancient and Medieval military history and wargaming contributed by Society members. It organises various events, including an annual games day and members' convention, and runs a wargames championship. The Society also publishes a number of games and booklets which are available from our web store.
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Membership is open to all, and lasts for 6 issues of Slingshot.
| Members Taking Part | 41 |
| Games Played | 157 |
Current Standings
| Name | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | Points | Score |
| Paddy Myers | 24 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 56 | 11.43 |
| Martin Smith | 21 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 37 | 8.07 |
| Martin Myers | 19 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 34 | 7.8 |
| Paul Murgatroyd | 16 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 7.25 |
| Conor Truby | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 7.07 |
| Pete Duckworth | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 25 | 6.68 |
| Gavin Pearson | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 |
| Stephen Finn | 17 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 5.82 |
| Matthew Davison | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5.37 |
| John Graham-Leigh | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 5.37 |
| Ken Gordon | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 20 | 5 |
| Tim Rogers | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 4.62 |
| Andrew Avery | 21 | 6 | 2 | 13 | 20 | 4.36 |
| Harmon Ward | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4.24 |
| Andrew Gledhill | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4.24 |
| Keith McGlynn | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4.24 |
| Richard Pulley | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 4.02 |
| Denis Grey | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 4 |
| Paul Hodson | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 3.9 |
| Rob Rush | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 3.36 |
| Paul Clair | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3.27 |
| Richard Lockwood | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Phil Barrington | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 2.86 |
| Mark Kulke | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2.31 |
| Steve Etheridge | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 2.27 |
| Andreas Johansson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2.12 |
| Johan Herber | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2.12 |
| John Vaughn | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2.12 |
| Bill MacGillvray | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Phil Steele | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1.73 |
| Ivan Djokic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Keith Murphy | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Mike Watkins | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Graham Bull | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Matt Bennett | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| John Calvert | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Russell King | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0.76 |
| Alan Davison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ralph Graham-Leigh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Harry Dudrow | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| David Cox | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
The 2025 Society of Ancients Convention will this year take place at Missenden Abbey, Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, over the weekend of the 26th - 28th September 2025.
The Convention is very much an opportunity to participate in a plethora of battles using a variety of both new and well-worn rulesets. In many cases, the rules’ authors and various experts are on hand for discussion. A full programme of events and games will be published nearer the date.
Bookings can be made using the links above or by cheque sent to the Treasurer made payable to the Society of Ancients.
Please note that bookings must be made by 30th June. After that date we cannot guarantee that places will be available.
Sunday 29th March 2026
Cunaxa (401 BC)
The 2026 Society of Ancients Battle Day will take place at Hermitage Village Hall in Berkshire (postcode RG18 9WL), on Sunday 29th March 2026. We will be re-fighting the epic Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC where Cyrus The Younger, aided by a band of 10,000 mercenary Greek Hoplites, sought to overthrow his brother Artaxerxes II for the throne of Persia.
The day will run from 9am (with the hall available to set up from 8am) to 5pm and will consist of an opening presentation by renowned historian and veteran wargamer Duncan Head, followed by a full day of wargames to refight the battle itself. A wide variety of rules sets, figure scales and even, perhaps, widely divergent interpretations of the historical sources will be on display. Games are laid on by attendees, and participants can either volunteer to run a game, or turn up and find a free space to play. The event is open to both members and non-members, and will cost £12 per person.
For more information please email the Battle Day Coordinator:
If you wish to run a game please provide the following details:
Battle Day 2025 (Maldon 991 AD) in full swing!
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Available in web store.
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Editorial Wargame news 'Thibron, Ptolemaios and the battle for Kyrene', by Björn Floderus 'The Sarteana Urn', by Adrian Nayler 'Charles Grant 50th anniversary refights #5: the Sambre', by Phil Sabin 'Solo Age of Hannibal: Republican Romans versus Seleucids', by Jens Peter Kutz 'The infinite corruptibility of the One-Hour Wargame', by Ian Piper 'Estonian Bloodbath', by John Graham-Leigh Book, figure and game reviews |
Available in web store.
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Available in web store.
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Available in web store.
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Editorial 'More thoughts on recruiting Achaemenid armies', by Jim Webster 'The Hyksos: an army without a face', by Steven Neate 'Specialist formations on the wargame table', by John Hogan 'Maldon 991 AD as a card-assisted wargame project – Part 2', by Bruno Servili 'Remotely Sumerian – a battle pictorial', by Jonathan Freitag 'Wooden walls at the Society Convention 2024', by Adrian Nayler 'Art de la Guerre: King In The North (York, 19 - 20 Oct 2024)', by Martin Stephenson Review of Brethren - Skirmish Tabletop Wargame, by Ian Piper Review of Osprey's Gladiators, by Duncan Head Review of Mongol Expansion for Commands & Colors: Medieval, by Steven Neate |
Available in web store.
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The Society of Ancients is a volunteer organisation, and relies on its members. It's very easy to join -– just click on the button below, or for more details, go to the join page, add a membership to your cart and check out using Paypal. You can alternatively download a postal membership form. Membership costs £36 for 6 issues of Slingshot (normally a year), plus access to the forum.
Slingshot is the bi-monthly journal of the Society of Ancients. You can purchase back issues of Slingshot from our web store. Prices for back-issues are now lower than ever:
The Society of Ancients respects the privacy of its Members and only retains such personal data as is needed to meet its contractual obligations or for which it has a legitimate purpose.
