Field of Glory 3rd Edition
Terry Shaw
176 pages
242 x 190 cased hardback
ISBN: 978-1-85818-739-6
Pre-publication price: £29.95 GBP
In Peace, Prepare for War!
Do battle with friends and enemies alike with Field of Glory, the miniatures tabletop wargaming rules. Bring history to life as you engage in ferocious combat with the finest armies of the ancient and medieval worlds.
The Field of Glory rulebook contains all the information you need to play your first epic battles with figurines, terrain, tape measures, and dice.
Including:
- The complete rules with clear explanations of how to play.
- Diagrams illustrating all key points.
- Photographs of miniatures in action.
- Detailed artwork for creative reference.
- Four army lists for immediate play.
Produced in association with Slitherine Software.
FoG – AM Version 3 review by Chris Tofalos.
Field of Glory: Ancient and Medieval is a popular miniatures set of rules that has been around since XXXX. It has gone through two previous revisions and, as you read this, the third edition is about to be delivered to thousands of eager gamers around the world.
Veteran and highly successful wargamer Graham Briggs, who was involved in the writing of Version 3, says, "The overall aim was to improve the game by addressing the deficiencies (both in history and gaming) that players both current and past have identified." So what has changed?
We've been using the final draft of Version 3 in our annual ancient/medieval comps this year at our club, MAWS in Manchester. We've found a key improvement is quicker and, I have to say, more interesting play, due to a number of factors.
More importance is placed on the Impact Phase, with three dice (four for scythed chariots, two against elephants) being used instead of two, to reflect initial impetus. This results in more hits and a greater chance of base losses, which are now taken into account before Cohesion Test rolls, rather than after.
Heavy Foot can now move at 4MU instead of 3MU, so long as no enemy are near. Again, this speeds-up play, although those dancing pikes have their maneuvering abilities reduced and, for example, can no longer turn and move in the same phase.
Some of the other changes include:
Superior troops now cost more; the authors thinking they were a little too cheap before, and their choice a no brainer. The previously sometimes weak Undrilled Average Impact Foot and Light Spear/Lance Cavalry, in three ranks or two ranks respectively, now count as Superior (in Impact close combat only), to reflect their fierce initial charges. A single rank of Offensive/Defensive Spears now gets a plus one POA if they have a second rank of battle troops (such as MF archers). This will help make those previously weak mixed formations a little more viable. And there's an interesting new weapons class, Polearms, a heavy weapon hybrid, which gets a plus one POA against mounted, but only cancels out one level of armor superiority.
However, there are many other enhancements and improvements which would take too long to list in this review. Suffice to say, Version 3 is a major progression and devotees can expect quicker and more entertaining games.
Current U.K. National Champion and one of the official playtesters, Dave Ruddock, says, "Field of Glory has not had an update in many years, and I'd like to think this version has addressed the negatives and accentuated the positives of the game. The new version makes it quicker, makes more troops viable and changes the dynamics enough to, hopefully, bring back players who have moved to other rulesets. Army lists have been re-done in three books, which will also change the traditional army choices to make the game less predictable."
To sum-up, a quote from his introduction by author Terry Shaw:
We considered the more recent experiments involving single stands of troops, as opposed to "units", but in the end decided that the concept was flawed and introduced inherent problems into the game design. Some concepts are entirely new. Others may look familiar at first glance, but interact with the rest of the rules in a completely new way, giving Field of Glory a style all its own. This 3rd edition has been produced to further enhance realism and play-balance for a number of key armies and to improve rules mechanics in order to provide a more exciting game.
In Field of Glory, our most important objective is to make the game fun-to-play whilst retaining a strong historical feel. If we achieve this, we have met our goal. So whether you fancy being Alexander the Great or Ghengis Khan, it's up to you, happy gaming, and may your dice roll high!
