The Society of Ancients magazine, Slingshot [#338], is with the printers …
and should land in SoA member's postboxes in the next few days! Here is the cover picture, together with a list of the contents and a short summary of each article , or go to the SoA news page for more information. (If you aren't already a member of The Society of Ancients , you can read about and join the society here.)
President's Foreword
The view from the president's chair, including a round up of 2021 and a look forward to what's coming in 2022.
Guardroom
Simon Mason responds to Antony Clipson's article on ‘Game mechanics and Realism‘, from issue 337, with some interesting alternative views. (Of course, or this wouldn't be Guardroom.)
Ancients Awaken from Slumber aka Lockdown Smackdown or A Day of DBA by Harry Dudrow and Andrew Gledhill
In which Harry Dudrow (who stands atop the 2021 SoA Championship list, or did at the time of writing) and Andrew Gledhill try out DBA armies they painted during the pandemic and had never had a chance to use, vis a Thracian army (list I/48), Tibetans (list III/15) and Northern Sung (list III/62a).
First Class Warriors at the Birth of the Roman Republic by Dr Simon Elliott
In which Simon covers the transition from the later Etrusco-Roman monarchy to the early Republic before considering the panoply of the Etrusco-Roman hoplite as depicted in early regional artwork. (Ah me, the opportunity for temptation. Perhaps I should simply pass over it. But surely, just a cursory glance can't do any harm? And there's definitely a space in the figures cupboard. Somewhere.)
The Rise and Fall of Nomad Military Power, part 2 c. 1200 AD – c. 1600 AD – by Michael Fredholm von Essen
In part 2, Michael looks at the circumstances that led Temuchin to change nomad strategy and create the greatest land empire in history. He then examines the causes of the downfall of nomad military superiority.
Bosworth with Tree of Battles by Simon MacDowall
Read all abaht it! Read all abaht it! It was a long time coming but finally the 2020 Bosworth Battle Day came to pass in August 2021. Gasp! when you read about the splendid new setting at Newbury. Stand amazed! at the fabulous array of games. Every one a re-fight of Bosworth, under different rules and in many scales, from 6mm to 54mm. Definitely worth a look.
Slingshot Book & Game Reviews
This issue, a review of: Richard III and the Battle of Bosworth by Mike Ingram. Reviewed by Duncan Head.
Slingshot interviews Phil Barker – by Gordon Garrad
Phil Barker has been a major figure in wargaming since the late 1960s and is a former President of the Society of Ancients. Over the past 50 years he has written wargames rules covering many periods. Through the Wargames Research Group he and his co-authors have published many respected reference books on the armies of ancient history, covering most of the globe from 3000 BC. Gordon Garrad talks with Phil Barker and takes the opportunity to ask about how it all started, his approach to writing wargame rules and where he might be going next.
