What rules are people using now?

[Persia]

Having been out of the wargaming loop for quite a while, with the last rules I used being DBM 3, I have lost touch with what rule sets are commonly used now. I never tried Field of Glory - I think that's what folks in Melbourne moved to en masse, when it came out. I've been looking at DBMM and quite like some of the changes from DBM.

Any thoughts on what's going on now? There seem to be a lot more options than back then.

[Jon Freitag]

While I am no competitive gamer and Ancients are not my forte, I found Field of Glory a real slog to play.  FoG seemed more like hard work than enjoyable fun.
I am likely in the minority of the seasoned readership here but my favorites are Command & Colors using miniatures and Basic Impetvs.  I know. I know...

[lionheartrjc]

In the UK the main Ancient rule sets played in competition are  Art de la Guerre and Mortem et Gloriam. Both using base sizes that match DBX rules. Field of Glory and DBMM are still played. SAGA, more a skirmish level game, is also widely played.

Non-competition rule sets include Lion Rampant, Hail Caesar and Strength and Honour.

I know there is a group of Mortem et Gloriam players in Australia, and competitions were held at CanCon, RaiderCon and MoAB.

There is no shortage of rulesets.

Hope that helps.

[Denis Grey]

I play DBA and L'Art de la Guerre.  Both sets feature on the Australian competition circuit and, while it probably isn't decisive, I know one DBA player who lives in Melbourne.

[vexillia]

There's a rules agnostic review of the UK competition scene by Tim Porter dated 19 Dec 2022 - https://madaxemandotcom.blogspot.com/2022/12/who-played-what-2022-year-end-edition.html



Tim's analysis tends to be year on year.  I have used the UK Northern League to produce longer term trends:



https://blog.vexillia.me.uk/2023/03/northern-league-2022-review.html

Obviously a UK specific view but worth ten minutes of your time.

[Persia]

Thanks all. The pie chart and graph are particularly interesting. Seems like the big ancients club in Melbourne reflects the 2022 bar as well. I had not heard of L'Art de la Guerre until today, but will have a look, it sounds like it might be ok.

[dwkay57]

Wasn't there a survey of members a little while back and the results were posted in Slingshot?
I'm away at the moment so can't check.

[Erpingham]

I think it might be noted that our graph making data is drawn from the competition circuit and, obviously, tends to feature sets most suitable for competitions. So, if that isn't your primary interest, a wider range of rules can be found in use.  Richard has mentioned a number of these which are worth a look.  Command & Colours, mentioned by Jon, has a lot of interest in its various forms too.  Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames (OHW) has a following, though admittedly mainly not in ancients. OHW, however, is quite popular for its scenario selection given in the rules, which I've seen frequently borrowed for use in other rule sets - it is worth picking up a cheap copy if scenario-based games appeal. But one thing is for sure, you have a huge range of options to find something that fits your style.

[vexillia]

Thanks all. The pie chart and graph are particularly interesting. Seems like the big ancients club in Melbourne reflects the 2022 bar as well. I had not heard of L'Art de la Guerre until today, but will have a look, it sounds like it might be ok.

There are some resources here - https://blog.vexillia.me.uk/p/art-de-la-guerre-v4-adlg-resources.html

It has a link to Julian Lopez's beginners guide (pdf).

[Imperial Dave]

I am minded to add medieval warfare by Terry Gore

Very well written

[Erpingham]

I am minded to add medieval warfare by Terry Gore

Very well written

But widely used ?

We might mention Triumph, which Chris Hahn regularly uses and I believe Andreas has also some experience with. As a DBx derivative, they might interest someone with a DBM background.

Add : I note the rules are popular at Durban Wargames Club, where one Justin Swanton participates in the local league.  So definitely a well-travelled set.

[Duncan Head]

I'm still playing DBMM pretty much exclusively. For a lot of people, game choice depends on getting opponents locally, and I am fortunate in that there is a group of fairly regular DBMM players at Reading. AdlG, WRG 6th(!), and some other ancients sets are also played.

[Jon Freitag]

Duncan, from your "Games Played" counts, you seem to maintain a very busy DBMM gaming schedule.

[Duncan Head]

Duncan, from your "Games Played" counts, you seem to maintain a very busy DBMM gaming schedule.

I'm certainly getting in more games than before I retired!

[Imperial Dave]

I suspect not many play MW but it ticks a few boxes with regards to mechanisms and the like. It's one I havestumbled on recently and it's like wrg 6th 7th and warhammer rolled into one but with the naff bits dropped