Irregular Miniatures

Ancients Rule Box

reviewed by J.L. Hayes

"Nice things come in small packages", Irregular Miniatures has on the market a small item that will have you back on the ancients battlefield in no time. On two typewritten pages and seven 3x5 cards Mr. Ian Kay has designed a rule set which I have found less complex and more user-friendly than WRG 7th, less rigid than TACTICA, and of greater appeal than De Bellis Antiquitatas. It's certainly gotten the dust off my figures!

On his two page introduction Mr. Kay explains unit basing, classification of troop types, and the point values of units and armies. Most troops fall into one of three major classes: battle troops, auxiliaries and skirmishers. Battle troops consist of the line infantryman -- legionary, hoplite, huscarl or Celtic swordsman; and fall into units of 5 to 8 6-man bases. Auxiliaries form up in 2 to 4 stands of either 5 horse or 6 foot figures. The auxiliaries category includes peltasts, Roman auxiliaries and all non-skirmishing mounted troops. Skirmishers are based in single stands and include all open formation, missile-armed types. Outside the three major types are elephants, chariots, artillery and generals.

Troops are classified as either regular or irregular, regulars receive a higher combat bonus with each additional round of combat and maneuver easier -- irregulars move faster and have an initial "charge" bonus. Troop morale/quality has the familiar A to D classes, but in this system much of the morale/reaction tests and certain modifiers are handled by the use of differing dice for each class. For example "A" class elites use a 12-sided die, the "D" class militia roll a 6-sided die.

Mr. Kay has ingeniously placed the heart of his system on seven easy to handle index-sized cards with the various procedures on one side and examples on the other. As the player goes through the sequence of play he turns over the appropriate card step-by-step: 1. Scouting, deployment, orders & turn sequence; 2. Rout, pursuit, charge, evade; 3. Movement; 4. Missile fire; 5. Melee; Two additional cards outline "panic test" (reaction test) procedures and the randomized movement/shot fall of elephants, chariots/stonethrowers.

Points for army-building are allocated per strip (base, stand). These range from a high of 40 for the army commander to a low for unshielded D-class pila-fodder. A typical heavy infantry unit would run 32 points and an average heavy cavalry outfit would cost 24 points. Most of my armies seem to come in around 300 points; my favorite army belongs to Rome's Dux of Raetiae; its 45HC, 48MI, 144 LMI, 18 LI &36 LMI (warband) = 218 pts. Its Frankish foe fields 5 MI warbands, 6 LI strips and a heavy cavalry bodyguard for 217 pts.

This system's key difference rests with the differentiation of unit class by die. A few examples might be enlightening -- in the early stages of a Hellenistic set-to, a Cretan archer unit and a shieldless Persian javelin strip fire on one another. The stationary Cretans, with bonuses for firing at short range on an unarmored, unshielded unit have a fire factor of 5; the D-class Persians must exceed 5 on their 6-sided die to avoid casualties. The C-class Cretans must roll a 2 or better on their 8-sided die to escape punishment from the Persians fire (degraded by range and by firing unit movement).

Next, a unit of hard-charging Spanish scutarii take on a group of Roman heavy infantry. With both units carrying HTW` (heavy throwing-weapons), precontact fire precedes melee. The Iberian falarica barrage delivered at close range by a charging unit has a fire factor of 7. The retaliatory Roman pila strike equals 9. Both units (C-class) roll their die-8's. The Spanish lose one strip automatically (Roman fire factorof 9) and must roll at least a 2 to avoid loss of a second strip - which they do. The Roman die comes up 6. With each losing a single strip the two move on to melee with unit strengths at 7 each.

Melee consists of 3 consecutive rounds - if neither side breaks, the units disengage and may resume hand to hand next turn. The Spaniards attack with a modified factor of 10 (strength + charging + irregular bonus = 7+1 +2); Rome rolls a 3, losing 1 strip. The Romans attack (simultaneously) with 8 (strength plusarmor), Spaniards lose 1 automatically (8-sided die).

Round 2 - Spanish factor 6, Rome 8 (strength + armor + bonus for regulartroops). Both roll 5, both lost 1 strip. Final round - combat factors, Spain 5, Rome 8 (strength + armor + increased regular bonus). Spain suf- fers anotherautomatic loss (can'texceed with an 8-sided die), Rome rolls 7, escaping any loss. If a combatant suffers greater loss than foe on a melee round you take a panic test using the appropriate die foryour unit. In this test you must exceed your unit's total losses. Hannibal's hardy scutadi roll a six escaping trouble. Had the roll been under four the Spanish would have lost an additional strip and routed.

Since my Ancients Rule Box arrived I've pitted Caesar against the Gauls, Hannibal against Rome, and the battered Late Roman/Patrician armies against Alemanii, Franks, and Huns. In my largest battle, Rome's Count of Britain and his men went down under a combined Pictish-Scots-Saxon-Attacotti horde. Next, Macbeth's Prefeudal Scots will take on a Viking incursion. The speed and ease of play of this rules set makes wargaming in the ancient era a pleasure again, instead of a chore; particularly for those of us who eschew tournament play and who, thanks to work schedules and hectic personal lives, usually end up wargaming against themselves. I doubt the Rule Box will satisfy hardcore WRG'ers, but I believe thatthese rules will appeal to those dissatisfied with the present ancient rules situation.

I ordered my Ancients Rules Box from Irregular Miniatures Britain for £ 2.40 and consider it the best bargain I've ever found in wargaming. Splurge and buy their battlepack for £ 10; you'll get the rules plus two 6mm armies (they offer 63 different, including some beautiful Aztecs). Try it, you'll like it.

The Reviewing Stand

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