Society Annual Conference November 2018

When: 24 - 25 November 2018

Where: Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth
 
A reminder that the Society of Ancients Conference 2018 will take place over the weekend 24th and 25th November, at the same venue as the 2016 and 2017 Conferences, the Chesford Grange Hotel, Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
The aim is to get together as a Society and to exchange ideas on wargaming in the ancients and medieval periods. And to enjoy playing some good and varied wargames!

The weekend will contain a mixture of presentations and wargaming sessions in small and larger groups. Already confirmed as a speaker for 2018 is Duncan Head, author of the legendary Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars and many other books.

The cost for the weekend is £189, which includes the two full days at the Conference, buffet lunch both days, the Conference Dinner on the Saturday evening, bed and breakfast Saturday night, and teas and coffees, fresh fruit, biscuits and cakes etc throughout the days.

Single day attendance (without the B&B and Saturday Dinner), including the lunch, is available for around £45 per day (also held at last year's cost).
For those arriving on the Friday evening we have negotiated a Conference bed and breakfast rate, which should also be booked in advance though us. This also remains held at last year's cost, at £105.

Because the Society is required to pay the venue in advance for the Conference we will require full payment four weeks before the Conference. However, in order to reserve your place we will initially be taking deposits, either by the Society website PayPal route or by cheques made out to the Society of Ancients and sent to the Treasurer. These deposits are non-returnable unless we are able to find someone else to attend in your place. The deposit cost is £45 (as it was last year).

More details here: http://soa.org.uk/joomla/

𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵

A new Ancients system with the rulebook and army lists currently available for free (who can resist that?), which promises a fast game that is easy to get into - only the first 12 pages of the 24-page rulebook are necessary for play.

The rules incorporate disorder, loss of morale, orders and much else in a very compact package that has been playtested and fine-tuned for years. More here:

http://shaun-wargaming-minis.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

Slingshot 320 with the Printers

Here is a list of contents with short summaries:

Guardroom
The debate continues on the historicity of the Bible.

The Sack of Chang’an - Part 2
The concluding half of Nicholas Spratt's article on the Tibetan Empire examines its formidable army.

Paraitakene with Commands & Colours
Playing the Battle Day battle with one of the fastest and easiest Ancients systems around.

Paraitakene with Tactica 2
A much larger and historically more nuanced system puts pike and elephant through their paces.

The Apogee of the Athenian Fleet
Periklis Deligiannis examines how the navy of the great Greek power reached its pinnacle just before its final fall.

Wargaming War Wagons
Chris Hahn looks at the historical use of this unusual weapon and how that use is replicated by popular rulesets.

Building the Lykian Hoplites
Duncan Head shows his techniques for assembling and painting the Hoplites employed at Paraitakene.

How Hard does a Horse Hit?
Justin Swanton calculates the impact power of a horse against infantry.

Reviews
A good crop of reviews included themed reviews on half a dozen books on Agincourt.

 

THIS is how you do a battle report video!

Chal of Little Wars TV umpires the Battle of Dertosa - without telling the players that they are actually playing the Battle of the Trebia in which Mago has a nasty cavalry ambush waiting on the Roman left flank. 

A couple of censor beeps when the Roman commanders learn the truth, having advanced their line well forward and leaving their rear vulnerable - just as their historical counterparts did.

Video here:
http://www.littlewarstv.com/trebia-aar.html

 

 Players all good to go: two Roman commanders on the right and two Carthaginian commanders on the left. Chal umpires in the middle. The Romans are confident: who can resist their masses of heavy infantry?

 

The moment in the game when Chal informs the players that this is actually Trebia and Mago is ready to spring into action from the ravine on the Roman left. If looks could kill...

 

 

Their flanks in tatters, the Roman centre makes a desperate attempt to burst through the Carthaginian line and head for safety. Hannibal's life is on the line: will he die and lose the battle despite his earlier success?