DBA: 10 Years
After and Beyond

Introduction

by Bob Beattie

In March of 1990, a little booklet of ancient and medieval rules appeared on the market. This had the strange name of De Bellis Antiquitatis (and known ever since as just DBA).

Phil Barker at HMGS Dinner honoring him with the Scruby Award.

This was published by Wargames Research Group and authored by the doyen of big, complex rules, Phil Barker and a new partner, Richard Bodley Scott. The dull kraft brown cover had an illustration of an ancient soldier, wrapped around with a long scroll and a subtitle: “Simple Fast Play Ancient Wargame and Campaign Rules with Army Lists.”

The full text had only 22 pages with only 3 dealing with the actual rules and 1 covering terrain. There were two pages of illustrations, one being a very cryptic web affair with black and white castles having something to do with campaigns; the other showing an example of combat outcomes. The rest of the text included a one page introduction, a page with both descriptions of needed equipment and the game scales plus design philosophy, three pages of troop definitions, three devoted to the campaign rules, plus a page with historical campaign options. Then there were five pages of army lists and two pages of game variations.

A slim volume, at first glance not one to change the basic paradigm of gaming principles and breathe a new life into the hobby and from a person, perhaps, least expected to do so. After some 20 years of increasing complexity of ancients/medieval rules, Phil Barker was offering something supposed to be simple and fast play. It was truly the makings of an oxymoron: Phil Barker and Simple Rules.

What followed in the next ten years in the hobby is nothing short of amazing. Not just for the ancients/medieval area, but for the hobby as a whole. Truly a paradigm shift if there ever was one. Would I be going to far to say it was like the impact of Rock and Roll on popular music in the 50’s!? Anyway, not since Little Wars has a rule set had such an impact on wargaming; changing the way people would hence forth think about wargame principles. What follows here is a short overview of the influence of those rules, now just over 10 years later and a preview of the newest version - DBA 2.0. But first a personal reflection.

More DBA: 10 Years

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