When players of WRG's 6th Edition Ancients Rules ask how to improve their game they are often told to use the same tactics on the table that their army used in history. This is valid only if the rules reward historical behavior and if they fight only their army's historical opponents. My advice would be to get out pencil and paper to study the math of the game. Once you have the numbers down you can add a history topping. All games are math formulas. The rules define what reality is by placing number values on people and events, and then accenting areas the rule author felt were important. A knowledge of history is useful, but you won't know how to use it on the table until you know how the rules function. Real soldiers are bound by the laws of physics; gainers by the rules.

Ancients is very much like gambling. You move your numbers around until the odds are in your favor and then roll the dice. You have to keep in mind what the odds are and make "bets" accordingly. Sometimes a fluke 36 to 1 roll comes through, but no one can count on it. Normally the numbers average out. If they don't... well, no one wins all the time. If you re not playing for fun you should switch to a game with less luck involved, if you want to play better you must study the charts and numbers. How does this translate onto the table? Each player constructs an army out of numbers (speed, morale, armor, weapons, etc. are all just numbers).

The first thing you notice while playing is that hardly any of the castings are ever "killed". In any game the majority of castings are disabled by reaction rolls. This leads to the premise that the reaction roll chart is the key to the game. Everything you do, including melee and movement, is to force your opponent to take reaction tests with negative modifiers. Of course, you must screen your own troops from situations their sensitive souls can't handle. From set-up to pursuit of a broken army, you must play the reaction chart like a violin.

Advantages

You have advantages no general in history has ever had. You know exactly where all your troops are, what they are, and what they are capable of. You know exactly where the enemy must start from, how many points of troops he has, where any possible flank marches can enter, which pieces of terrain can contain hidden units, and more. You have rules that tell you exactly what any weapon in the game can do to you or for you. You have army lists that tell you the minimums and maximums for the enemy troop types, and what their morale and weapon possibilities are. You don't know what the other guy will do with his army, but you do know what his limits and options are. If you're ever surprised, it's because you didn't take the time to study the situation.

The next step is to learn to see what is going to happen a few turns ahead during a game. If you see a problem coming you can prepare for it; if you don't see it coming you must sacrifice to the Dice Gods early and often. How do you know something bad is about to happen? You look at the numbers. Melee is a computation: the number of castings in contact (W) times the weapon factor (X) plus the tactical factor (Y) plus the random die roll (7) equals your melee number. If your melee number is larger than his, you win the melee. It doesn't matter if his are supermen or are better painted. In this game any unit can rout any other unit, if the conditions are right. You may look at the table and see elite castings ready to conquer the world, but if they get hit in the back they have a melee number of zero. When you see some good numbers coming for your inferior numbers, you must plot a way to either avoid contact or shift the odds to your favor.

Suppose there's a unit of pikes heading directly for your favorite unit of wimps. If you see them coming soon enough you might move out of the way. Let's say you can't get away in this example, but you do have an LC unit loafing about in the area. Place the LC in front of the pikes. They will either have to charge the LC or go around them. Both take time and give you some turns to get away. You know your LC are safe because you've looked at the movement chart and seen that MI cannot catch evading LC who have room to run. There are two ways to avoid contact: (1) maneuver, and (2) distract the enemy with another unit. You have to see the danger in time to make either of them work.

Assume the same situation, but no escape is possible and no LC to hand. Your wimps are shaking in their cheerleader skirts. All you can do is try to shift the odds. First you work on the reaction chart. Put a general with your troops, give them advancing friends and other positive modifiers if possible. Try to screen them from friendly routs and other negatives. You should roll ten as an average on three dice, so you can tell if they have a chance at all of going impetuous. If they can go impetuous, they will fight better in the melee. Also, any negatives you can push off on the enemy will help. Try to let them see enemy advancing, enemy on flank, etc. If you know the reaction chart, you'll know what to look for.

Meanwhile you can maneuver your wimp unit. You may want to expand or contract. It's hard to get one hit per casting on a unit with a narrow frontage. If you expect to receive at the halt, a broad frontage reduces the chance of the enemy getting overlaps. There are many little tactical tricks that experienced gainers use. Don't be shy about borrowing something that is used on you by someone else. Position your unit for maximum advantage based on a knowledge of the tactical factors and movement possibilities.

If possible, bring in another unit. The other unit doesn't have to be better to do some good. It's harder to break two bad units side by side than it is to break one bad unit alone. They don't inflict more casualties, but they can take more punishment. Things are best when one of your units charges the enemy flank while the other goes for the front. Team tactics can be developed. Unit X melees with the enemy and gets recoiled while unit Y has moved onto the enemy flank. Next turn unit X breaks off while Y hits the enemy flank. There are many ways to take advantage of numbers both in the charts and on the table. The three ways to shift the odds in your favor are: (1) reaction chart; (2) maneuver, and (3) supporting units.

In Control

The point of these examples is to demonstrate that you are in control. You can reasonably predict movement, morale, and melee. You can't know precisely what will happen because there is a large amount of luck involved in morale and melee, and because the rules are rife with ambiguities. It's difficult for even experienced players to get through a game without several rules disagreements, but the charts and numbers are the least controversial parts. And what about history?

You have three scythed chariots attacking twenty HI Romans in two ranks ten castings wide. If you throw the chariots into the middle of the Romans you'll have twelve horses versus fifteen HI (ten front rank and five back rank). If you clip the end casting of the Romans with one chariot horse you'll be fighting that HI plus one overlap plus one back ranker; total three. You will get the horse in contact plus the other three of that model plus one model overlap: total eight.

Clearly the "unrealistic" version is better. Many players would complain that it's a rules lawyer trick, and should not be used because scythed chariots were not used that way. On the other hand where in history do we find scythed chariots with the destructive power of tactial nuclear weapons such as the WRG version? How can they be used over and over if the driver jumps out before contact? And what's an overlap? This is a game, not a simulation. If you want to recreate history, you'll have to change the rules. If you want to have fun and play better use the rules, warts and all, and add large doses of tolerance and humor to help get through the inevitable rules arguments. Learn the numbers, play the odds, and even if you lose, you'll be playing a better game.

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