| The Wargames Room | 31 Oct 2015 2:06 a.m. PST |
An enjoyable day of DBA gaming at Conquest here in Christchurch today with the Historical Matched Pairs format. The armies and terrain were all well presented and provided plenty of challenges. A few photos and a brief summary can be found here:
link |
| vtsaogames | 31 Oct 2015 4:00 a.m. PST |
Link doesn't work for me. |
| timurilank | 31 Oct 2015 4:38 a.m. PST |
This should do. link Nicely painted armies by the way.
Cheers, |
| vtsaogames | 31 Oct 2015 7:29 a.m. PST |
Thank you, much better. I do like the matched pairs idea. |
 Bobgnar  | 31 Oct 2015 8:47 a.m. PST |
Very good report thanks much for sharing. Beautiful figures and basing too. I believe that matched pairs is the only way to really play DBA as it's intended, within historical parameters. No more Sumarians versus Burgundians :). In the past 10 years I have run many matched Pairs games at Historicon. Only 4 rounds however, I would love to do six sometime but there never seems sufficient time at that convention as there are many other events to do. There are morning afternoon and evening slots of four hours each. One problem that has bothered me is people bringing Civil War match pairs. I think in the future I will ask the players not do this so opponents get more variety of play. |
| Attalus I | 31 Oct 2015 9:52 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the great report. |
| The Wargames Room | 31 Oct 2015 11:39 a.m. PST |
Firstly sorry for the issue with the original link, thank you for Timurlink for posting a corrected link. The Historical Matched Pairs format seems to be enjoyed by most players, though I'm aware that some people, even locally, are not used to building armies in pairs. Sometimes this is a result of "traditional" Ancients rules that are require large armies to be built. We try and assist here by providing loan armies, though this is not ideal as players like to use their own armies. As to armies from Civil Wars I don't see this as being a problem. Many such wars form critical and interesting moments in history. These battles are infrequently seen with many rules which is a shame. With DBA they are possible. Caesar vs Pompey, Wars of the Successors, Classical Greece, Wars of the Roses all spring to mind. I wouldn't restrict these armies. Next up is the Medieval Open, drawing armies from the Dark Ages & Medieval period. Something different again. |
| Khusrau | 01 Nov 2015 2:07 p.m. PST |
We tried matched pairs in DBM, and it worked very well, but haven;t done it in years. One challenge was that some players hated having someone else handle their figures. |
| Codsticker | 02 Nov 2015 9:54 a.m. PST |
We tried matched pairs in DBM, and it worked very well, but haven;t done it in years. One challenge was that some players hated having someone else handle their figures. I would be nervous too, but because I am clumsy- I would be worried for my opponents figures! |
| Battle Cry Bill | 04 Nov 2015 10:48 a.m. PST |
I always enjoy wargames more when there is an obvious link to historical battles (even when the history is of Middle Earth.) Is there a link anywhere that explains in more detail how historical matched pairs tournaments work? I would like to try this approach at Little Wars next year (and maybe even earlier.) Thanks. Bill Hupp
T&R Miniatures |
| Paulisper | 04 Nov 2015 11:24 a.m. PST |
This has been the format of the DBA Northern Cup ever since its inception, 10 years ago ;-) |
| Thomas Thomas | 04 Nov 2015 3:17 p.m. PST |
Battle Cry: Each player brings two historically matched opponents for each table. (So you can use both scales as armies stay on the same table.) Players then rotate through the tables switching pairs of armies after each round. If your using your matched set then your opponent gets to pick which army he/she wants to use. Otherwise you randomize. After a certain number of rounds the player that has won the most games wins the tournament etc. Many people create matched sets of opponents for DBA. TomT |
| Bobgnar | 04 Nov 2015 3:30 p.m. PST |
"We tried matched pairs in DBM, and it worked very well, but haven;t done it in years. One challenge was that some players hated having someone else handle their figures." This can be solved by the organizer providing figures -- matching armies to the player who thus has 4 armies. The good ones for him to use, and the lenders for the opponent . Or encourage players to paint up (or get painted up) a couple of armies for sharing games. Or just do not worry about those who cannot share, there are plenty of players around. Battle Cry Bill
I try to use the simplest approach. Each player brings two historical armies in any scale. As I said earlier, more fun if not the same armies in civil war, but those work. I designate 1/2 of the players as side A and the other half side B. In the first round, match every A with a B. The A player supplies the armies, B picks which of the two armies he will use and then proceed as a normal game. Each player has legal terrain for the armies he has. Next round, Side B players provide the the armies to a new Side A player who picks which he wants, B uses the other. This goes on for an even number of rounds -- 4 or 6. Each player uses his armies for half the games and opponents' for half. Then award prizes to best score among side A players and to best side B player Always nice to have two winners. |
