About the Society

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.

Watch an introductory video here:     

Membership is open to all, and lasts for 6 issues of Slingshot.

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Blood Red Roses

£15

Blood Red Roses by Adrian Nayler is a simple though slightly unorthodox tabletop wargame primarily intended for two players to fight battles representative of the Wars of the Roses. It concentrates its attention at the level of the commanders and their wards, the major organisational divisions of armies at the time.

Players concentrate on the manner of their troops’ approach towards their enemy by assigning their wards one of a number of different ‘battle stances’. These stances dictate the options for movement and combat currently available to each. Stances can and should be changed as the battle progresses and players must consider the interplay of their stances with those of their opponent when striving for advantage. Having one’s wards on the desired stances at the appropriate times will not always be possible!

The game includes the rulebook, a quick reference sheet and two packs of cards.  The latter items, as well as a sheet of stance markers for use during the game can be downloaded for free as PDF files from the Society website.

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Blood Red Roses Quick Reference Sheet (free download)

Download this file if you need additional quick reference sheets to play Blood Red Roses

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Blood Red Roses Stance Counters (free download)

Download this file if you want additional stance counters for the Blood Red Roses wargames rules.

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Blood Red Roses Card Deck (free download)

Download this file if you need additional sets of cards for your Blood Red Roses wargames rules.

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The Society needs you!

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.

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Slingshot!

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:

  • Issues 350 onwards - £6 each
  • Issues 334-349 - £5 each
  • Issues 286-333 - £4 each