A dozen Central Ohio generals drew up their battlelines in a DBA Tournament on April 16 at CAPCON XVII in Columbus. The tourny featured four rounds with armies ranging from Early Seleucid to a variety of Roman periods to Mongols.

The first two rounds were qualifying rounds, in essence, with the top four armies forming a single-elimination winner's bracket to establish an overall winner. A point system was used to break ties among armies with similar win-loss records. Points were scored for each enemy element destroyed, taking a camp or killing the enemy general.

One change to the DBA rules was a battle did not end upon loss of a general. It continued until one side had lost four elements and more than the enemy.

After two rounds, there were three 2-0 armies: Early Seleucid, Late Roman and Marian Roman. There were six 1-1 armies: Later Frankish, Camillan Roman, Vandals, Vikings, Early Imperial Roman, and Mongols. The Vandals had scored the most points, though, and advanced to the winner's bracket.

All 12 armies fought all four rounds, although a few players left to participate in other Con events. There were plenty of observers that were eager to take over their armies (the tourny organizers, Terry Hollern and Mike Demana, provided armies for those that didn't bring one).

In the third round, the Early Seleucids defeated the Vandals and the Late Romans bested their earlier Marian brethren.

Championship Game

So, the championship round pitted the remaining unbeatens against each other: Chris Velas' Late Romans and George's (whose last name I forgot to record) Early Seleucids. The ground was of the Roman's choosing, with two large, steep hills -- each covered the left and part of the center of the opposing armies. A small lake guarded the right flank of the Seleucids.

George deployed his elephants and pikes alternating across his front, with light horse guarding the lakeshore and psiloi keeping an eye on the hill to his left. The knights were detached to the left, halfway up the steep slopes.

Chris arrayed his legions (blades) across his center, their left flank guarded by the hill, and their rear by a reserve of cavalry and knights. On the right, he threw his auxilia and light horse forward. As the battle opened *. he advanced them quickly towards the Seleucid horse out of position on the steep hill. The horse tried to retreat, but not before losing one of their number to the nimble auxilia.

Both centers advanced cautiously towards one another. While chasing off the psiloi guarding the left of the Seleucid battleline, the auxilia unwisely ventured off the steep slopes. The knights avenged their loss by riding down one auxilia in the open.

Meanwhile, the Roman center and reserve edged past the hill, facing the motionless Seleucid elephant and pike phalanx. The Roman light horse moved slowly across the slopes to reinforce the auxilia poised, uphill, on the flank of the Seleucids. Meanwhile, the Seleucid quickmarched their rallied psiloi past the Roman center towards their camp. They were intercepted by the Roman psiloi, but quickly destroyed them and continued on.

As his light horse picked their way off the steep slopes, the Romans launched their attack on the Seleucid left flank. With the light horse striking from the flank and the auxilia the front, the Romans began to crumble the end of the Seleucid battleline. First, one knight was destroyed, then another fell. The battle hung in the balance for the Seleucids, trailing three elements to two. Meanwhile, the main battlelines of both armies refused to close in the center.

The Seleucid's placed their hopes in their psiloi attacking the Roman camp. Twice they were thrown back. Meanwhile, having dispatched the horse guarding the Seleucid flank, the Roman light horse and auxilia closed in on the first elephant in the battleline. It fought bravely, but taken in flank, center and rear, was destroyed. With their left overwhelmed piecemeal, the Seleucids withdrew from the field, defeated.

After the battle, the Seleucid player admitted he should have been more aggressive in dealing with the Roman flank attack. Both made mistakes (the Romans moving Auxilia out to challenge knights in the open, the Seleucids in deploying horse on the steep hill), but both played intelligently in all four rounds. In particular, Chris refused to let his army become fragmented, keeping it in solid battlelines that could stand up to the enemy. This way he did not suffer overmuch from his frequent low "pip dice" rolls.

Both organizers and participants were pleased with the tourny, deeming it a success. The final standings were:

Late Roman, 4-0, 26 pts.
Early Seleucid, 3-1, 23 pts.
Camillian Roman, 3-1 21 pts.
Marian Roman, 3-1, 19 pts.
Vikings, 2-2, 21 pts.
Later Franks, 2-2. 18 pts.
Later Carthaginian, 2-2, 15 pts.
Early Imperial Roman, 2-2, 15 pts.
Early Saxons, 1-3, 17 pts.
Vandals, 1-3, 16 pts.
Mongols, 1-3, 10 pts.
Early Welsh, 0-4, 8 pts.

The organizers feel DBA lends itself very well to an ancients tournament, as compared to WRG. The four rounds lasted only five to six hours total, leaving players free to join other games that day. Also, some battles finished quicker than others, giving players time to check out the dealer's room between rounds, get refreshments or watch other games.

An equivalent WRG tournament would take two days (at least) to complete. Also, since the DBA rules are simple, it takes only a few minutes to explain interpretations and read the rules to a beginner. The organizers encourage others to hold DBA tournaments, its fun and an excellent way to recruit new blood into the ancients period.