Review

Advanced Armati

Ancients/Medieval Rules


The newest release by the ever-ubiquitous Arty Conliffe picks up where ARMATI, the popular American produced rules for Ancients/Medieval wargaming left off. Arty has listened to the gamers who wished to have more latitude in designing their competition armies and desired a bit more 'control' over their forces.

This newest supplement is the result. It is hard to be unbiased in my review, as some of the army lists and a few of the suggestions included were my own, but here goes. The physical look is similar to Arty's other rules, with a glossy color cover, ads within and the text done up in a large, easy to read, two column per page format. In the introduction, Arty tells us that he is trying to improve his original rules, hence the need for Advanced Armati.

The first section lists 151 armies, all with a basic core, or required number of units, and a number of Bonus Units, which allow you to pick and choose your favorite troops to fill out your army. This is similar to the WRG/DBM system, which also requires a number of basic units, allowing you the option to decide on others as you see fit.

I personally feel that this alone will greatly enhance the viability of ARMATI among tournament players. At HISTORICON this last July, there were 26 players in the ARMATI tournament, up from less than a dozen last year.Included in the rules are sections on the ECW and the Thirty Years War, with even more army lists and specific rules, expanding the original ARMATI rules into these periods.

An interesting section entitled "Tournament Etiquette" is also included, why I'm not sure, but it is a nice touch.Arty has included a section of Advanced Rules, containing new maneuver rules, which are clean, easy and well-explained. Another rule, which I among many lobbied for, is the melee break-off rule. This allows cavalry to get out of a bad or hopeless fight with stationary foot who could not catch them anyway. A section on rules clarifications cleans up some questions which cropped up over the original rules.

Finally, Advanced Armati contains a section of Campaign Rules, allowing the gamer to set up an open-ended campaign using armies from a number of historical periods. Very well done! There are storms at sea, reclamation of losses, intimidation and even a section on playing the game without figures. Advanced Armati costs $17.95 and is available through Wargames, Box 278, Route 40 East, Triadelphia, WV 26059-0278. - TERRY GORE

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