This is a very good program on the development of DBA 3, which also gives much insight into the new rules. Since Phil and Sue have been making the new rules available free at various stages of development, many players have been making suggestions and now can get the final version on line. Nevertheless, this background information is quite interesting and useful.
The interviewer has many good questions, and the responders, Joe Collins and Tom Thomas, both frequent posters here, have excellent answers. They were much more diplomatic than i would have been :) I disliked many aspects along the way, but most were fixed and the language made so much more understandable. I do not know much history, as Phil often says, so my contribution was to get clear statements of the rules, but I did not argue for specific rules , Those two, along with a dozen of the other Helpers provided much historical background to give the game a good grounding in facts.
One question posed to the respondents was, what is still lacking. They mentioned a couple of aspects. From my perspective, the biggest lack is a page or two more of the battle rules section to allow bullet points and some examples of play to clarify certain aspects. Phil, was adamant, however, that the rules fit into 5 pages. Very strange.
Luckily the Diagrams cover many components that are tricky. Fifteen pages of diagrams to cover 5 pages of rules, and the diagrams do not even cover pursuits. That should allow even the newest newbie to understand the game.
I hope there is another interview of Phil and Sue when the book is published to get some background on their ideas. And Sue too, after her book on Starting Ancient Wargaming is released.
Thanks much to Historical Wargames Podcasts for this useful service.
photographs the same figure, with different cameras and equipment.
