DBA game

Conwy Wargames Club Jan DBA game

Conwy Wargames Club 15mm DBA

The last couple of months the club has had great fun playing DBA. I'm more impressed that Pete has painted a fresh army for each get together!

2017-04-28 Conwy Wargames Club DBA

Ian and Pete played a couple of games, unfortunately I didn't catch the armies used as I was too busy running my 7TV game. Pete's army looked new.

Conwy Wargames Club Feb DBA games

Ian hosted a DBA game. I confess I am a great fan of Hail Caesar and before that Tactica, when DBA came out I took a dislike to it because it looked like chess and DBM didn't win me over. Now both these views of DBA and DBM were purely based on seeing games at shows, reading the multitude of articles that came out in the magazines at the time, but never playing them.

Since Ian has joined the club he's done a couple of games and the players have really enjoyed them, especially the DBM game. I realised there is no point being snobby  about a set of rules if you've never played them so in March I gave DBA a go.

Ian hosted providing a Roman and Sassanid army and Pete brought along an Alan army that could be adjusted to represent Visigoth.

Game 1
I took control of the Romans and Pete his Alans

Both sides deployed

Lovely Alan horse archers, which to our shock don't shoot arrows! Base to base contact is required. It took some getting used too, but I see the logic of short range horse archery abstracted in to close combat.

More lovely Alans

My Romans

My horse archers

My legionaries and auxiliaries

Sticky combat as we both manoeuvre to get an advantage 

As defender I got to place terrain and my use of these fields denied the Alans any swift flanking movement

I won the game, and really enjoyed it. I found some of he mechanisms familiar from Hail Caesar, and my mind adjusted too the small unit size quickly and I felt I was playing a real wargame and not chess. I enjoyed the tactical challenge, helped by not being familiar with the rules.

Games 2
Pete took over as umpire and Ian played the Sassanids and I took over the Alans. Sadly I took no photos, but it proved another enjoyable game. I used my speed to take the terrain and we clashed almost simultaneously as both our single lines met. I was able to exploit a gap created partly by Ian's lack of pips and partly by my winning a combat to get my cavalry behind Ian's line. This was exciting but it wasn't all going my way and we both were down to losing 1 more unit and we'd lose. This time it was me, done for by an elephant I was assured my horse archers could take, but rolling 1's is not going to help.

Another great game. I still love Hail Caesar but I'd definitely play DBA again.

Conwy Wargames Club September 15mm Sassanids vs Rome

Back in October David Saltrese put on a Hail Caesar game which saw Romans vs Sassanids. Tony was robbed of a glorious charge which would have crumbled Gaz Merrifield’s left wing. Instead Gaz survived his right wing being flanked to take the victory!

Conwy Wargames Club September 15mm DBMM game

Our other club game in September was put on by Ian S and involved a clash between Romans and Carthagians using the DBMM rules.

Pete and Gaz commanded the Carthaginians while Chris commanded the Romans.

The Carthaginians

Close of the Numbian cavalry

Elephants lead the way to hold the bridge

The Carthaginian commander

The might of Rome

The Roman commander positions himself on a hill to see his forthcoming victory (he hopes)

Ready for the off

Romans making good use of the road

Harsh language over the river, which is fordable

A clash of titans

The Romans struggle to cross the river

The elephant holds the bridge to the end (I suggested dicing for the bridge breaking under the weight of the elephant but this was ignored!). Rome fails to capture the crossing, and Carthage wins.

I didn't play this but the chaps enjoyed this more than DBM. Gaz who had played Hail Caesar actually preferred DBMM.