Little is known of William Spearshaker, the 16th century dramatist and wargamer. This recently discrovered fragment from his lost play, "The Seat of Mars", is strangely moving. His occasional lapse from true poetic language only emphasises his compassionate understanding of the problems of 25mm man. SCENE 1. A battlefield. Enter INCUBUS, a legate (HI) with three cavalry officers (HC,LC,C class). INCUBUS: Greeting, brave scouts! How stands the enemy? How many horse and foot, and what their arms? What news, decurion Gluteus Maximus? GLUT. MX: We done it right, 0 noble Incubus, According to the rules on page sixteen, Scoured the terrain, first counting every horse. The foe hath twelve of heavy cavalry and twenty lighter armed and broader based, While we ourselves do number only ten Upon the narrow base, and twelve light horse. INCUBUS: What means this calculation? Brutus Genes, Be thou my abacus and work it out. BRUT.C: I fear you will not like this, Incubus. Our thirty-four points faces fifty-two; By more than half their horse outnumbers ours. We are out-scouted, lord! A single point Doth blind us to their numbers and their arms. INCUBUS: What! needed we but one more rider, then? One wretched nag, D class irregular? Some horse archer, unpainted and ill based- Ah well, can't win them all- SALACIUS: But yet there's more. According to the ruling of that Group That do wargames research, that single point Enables them to see how we'll deploy And make their disposition afterward. INCUBUS: By Mithras, no! A few more scouts might see More of our forces than can we of theirs, But how-by what prediction-can they know How we'll deploy, while we see not a thing? GLUT.MX: Our legate likes it not, Salacius! 'Twill even more displease the mighty hand That painted us with costly sable brush. Methinks those fingers might some walking do From WRG to Newbury, For in that codex scouting hath no place- SALACIUS: By Lamming, Greenwood, Ball and Minifig! I scorn the shame of easy victory! Hast lost thy bottle, Gluteus Maximus? Have you no tin, or are you solid lead? Our hand will proudly choose the harder way For greater glory when we win the day! Exeunt, cheering. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. III #6 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1982 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com