The following is a listing of books, rules, miniature companies and game manufacturers that would be of interest to those who wish to learn about and wargame the Punic Wars. I always like reading on this period.

Books:

1) On Military Matters, 55 Taylor Terrace, Hopewell, N.J. 08525 286. Delbruck: Warfare in Antiquity: $20.00 (I do not have this myself, but it is considered a classic) [Ed. I have it, and it is not only a great read, it has some very interesting conjectures, for instance, the Roman manipular tactics were developed to allow close order troops to traverse broken ground without disrupting their formation!]

*291. Dodge: Hannibal: $60.00 (also available in PB [Ed. From Barnes and Noble], a must have book on the subject, superb coverage).

*321. Head: Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars: $32.00 (lots of terminology, battles, troop types explained).

319. Hart: Scipio Africanus: $14.00 (good read, dated language, on Rome's answer to Hannibal) [Ed. I love dated language. Unfortunately, in our present day multi-cultural morass where political correctness equates with boring, recitative writing, I fall asleep a lot easier than with a book from the 19th century].

364. Rodgers: Greek and Roman Naval Warfare: $35.00 (excellant coverage, but 2nd Punic War had little naval warfare).

378. Starr: Influence of Seapower: $14.00 (more theoretical than useful for wargames).

386. Warry: Warfare in the Classical World: $20.00 (coffeee table book, informative, however).

382. Tarn: Hellenistic Military and Naval Developments: $18.00 (explains theoretical underpinnings of Greek warfare).

2) Scholar's Bookshelf, 110 Melrich Rd., Cranbury, NJ 08512. (look for military and regular history, ancients section, also fiction which is useful for ideas and interpretation).

3) Edward R. Hamilton, Bookseller, Falls Village, CT 06031-5000 (catalog of useful books, but requires study, not for a quick browse).

4) Osprey Books, London. (Roman and Carthaginian armies, painting guides). [Ed. Along with tactics, campaigns and useful background information].

5) Tony Bath: Hannibal's Campaigns. 11.50 Pounds Sterling (See Agema Publications). Written by a wargamer.

6) Terry Gore, 890 Janes Rd., Rochester, NY 14612-2330 Magazine SAGA (not always useful, but user-friendly).

7)Keegan, John: On the Origins of War. Discusses in consdierable detail who (and why) the 2nd Punic War took place (1/5 of book!)

Game Manufacturers:

There are quite a few out there. Many are out of print, however.

TAHC, 4517 Hartford Rd., Baltimore, MD. (Hannibal - A fun game, captures the scope of the topsy-turvey aspects of the 2nd Punic War better than any other, especially diplomacy and military. Highly abstracted, not easily connected to miniatures.)

SPI - Decision Games. Published two games. #1. Punic Wars - Great articles on all three Punic Wars, the only game to cover all three wars. Easily converts to miniatures. Diplomacy not covered well. [Ed. This is one of my favorite board games of all times. It is always suspenseful and allows the gamer to try just about anything. Sea travel can be disastrous! The Roman generals must be 'elected' (blindly picked) each year. The army points are readily adaptable to miniature wargaming, as Stuart points out].

#2. Hannibal - Good articles, with the focus on the second Punic War, obviously. Easy to convert.

Aulic Council - (This game is out of print, but probably available in certain hobby shops). Not difficult to convert. the focus is on Italy, with great cards and good counters. Although designed by a miniatures player, I think other games are better.

Decision Games Ancient Battles 1 & 2 - Cannae, not much fun, contrived situation; and Metaurus, a playable game, more balanced than historical (both of these are abstracted boardgames, not very informative).

GMT Games - SPQR/CBI - Very complex games on ancient wargaming [1-800-523-6111]. These are both tactical battles - I have them, but I don't like them.

Rules Sets (Land Warfare):

Note * requires joint purchase of rule book and army lists book.

Wargames, Box 278, Triadelphia, WV 26059-0278 (800-221-2011 to order)

1. *WRG 7th Edition - Classic, changed, detailed--I don't like them, many do/did.

2. WRG 7th Edition Army Lists - Never really took off, detailed, but does not understand "our" period.

3. *DBM Rules - Easier to play than 7th, a different type of game.

4. DBM Army List, Book 2, 500 B.C. to 476 A.D. Much simpler, but difficult problems in simulating the legion.

5. DBA Rules. Much easier to play, a different type of game than the above.

6. ARMATI - By the designer of TACTICA. In my opinion, more enjoyable than DBA/DBM with lots of subtleties and replay value, but still does not get the essense of our period.

7. Might of Arms (See On Military Matters to order) Never played them personally, they seem to be a throwback to other rules, using WRG basing. They sound like fun, but someone I liked panned them, still I'm interested.

8. Classical Hack III (See On Military Matters) Advantage - uses WRG basing, very fun (Would seem to be well attuned for one moving from fantasy to historical -- never played by me).

9. Ancient Empire, with Hannibal module. Advantage - Describes army formations, leadership and truly works out a methodology for manipular legion warfare. Disadvantage - Not a fun game, more work than play, more of a simulation, requires lots and lots of figures. Expensive and frustrating to learn. (See On Military Matters).

10) Legio: Pike and Pike module. 5.00 Pounds sterling (Requires 1.7 dollar conversion and international money order or a check with $25.00 to cover bank fees for conversion. Agema Publications, 3 Workshop Rd., Sheinton, Nottingham N63 2BA. Advantages - Uses WRG basing, one of the best game systems; plays well and captures historical flavor. I'm waiting for my copy to be sent. Disadvantages: Not really having the manipular system, most rules abstract this in one fashion or another.

11) Clash: Innovative and easy to play. See Modellers Mart or Division After Division.

12) Wargamer's Digest, P.O. Box 5526, Madison, WI 53705 [Wargamer's Guide to Ancient Combat]. Advantages: Easy to play, no bugs, any mounting scale, fun. Recommended (uses hidden flank, etc., movements). Disadvantages: Need to get an army list and do research on your army; roster system (I personally like them). Some will consider them very dated--I always referred to them in trying to write my own.

Miniatures:

1) Wargames (see address above). 15mm are clunkier than I personally like, but good wargame type figures. 25mm are the same, but the detail is very good.

2) Empire, 5744 W. Irving Park Rd., Chicago, IL 60634. Catalog, miniatures, books, rules (including Naval).

3) Modeller's Mart, 1183 Cedar St., Safety harbor, FL 34695. Same as above with one or two different lines.

4) Friekorps (15mm), Ulster Imports Ltd., Box 1748, Champaign, IL 61824 (great lines, but have to make spears/pikes).

5) Frontier Miniatures, 7343 Branding Iron, Cenutillo, TX 79835. (25mm). Inexpensive compared to Wargames, but I like smaller 15's for expense.

6) Langton Miniatures, from Campaign Hq., 145 E. Little Creek Rd., Norfolk, VA 23508. Great service.

7) Brookhurst Hobbies, 12188 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA 92480. Tell them what you are interested in, they have all the English imports. Minifig 15mm/25mm. Well-made figures, easy to paint, not flashy, but still well proportioned and reasonably priced. Wargames Foundry - 25mm - very well made figures, near top of the line, expensive. 8) Regal Miniatures, 609 W. Euelrd Ave., Des Moines, IA 50313. Heroics and Ros 6mm comprehensive line. Very easy to piant, not too fine details, but who needs such with this small a scale. Requires more spray can and dab style painting, useful for those who want lots of figures. If you go this way, I can photocopy out of print rules.

9) Division After Division, 16710 Bradhe Rd., Fisherville, KY 40023. Clash, set of rules, seems to be very easy to play and has good chrome, am thinking of buying them. AIM 10mm figures, I am now painting my armies with these figures. You can paint them like Heroics and Ros, or you can paint them with eye-blinding detail. Everything is on these figures in terms of detail. No impossible-to-reach areas since figures are individually based.

[Ed. Nice job, Stuart. This type of article is always helpful for those interested in trying out a new period/army. Ant others out there? If so, please send your recommendations in for inclusion in future issues.]