De Re BelloLudi: Strategy Game – Ancient and Medieval Warfare

This ruleset simulates battles in the period of 2000 BCE to roughly 1500 CE, the age which includes Empires as Alexander the Great’s Macedonians, Rome, Carthage, Genghis Khan and Charlemagne.

The game is designed as a multiplayer game but will work just as fine with only two players or even solo. It is written for people with no prior wargame experience, but has enough depth to entertain the experienced wargamers as well. The army structure that is presented, can be easily adapted to the number of miniatures that you have available. Albeit that a large army look suitably impressive. Hopefully, playing the game will encourage you to create your own armies. Similarly, the distances are given in inches for use with 28mm scale soldiers. Feel free to adapt to centimeters should you do not have the space or use a smaller scale of miniatures.

In an ideal battlefield situation the enemy was pinned in place by the threat of cavalry or disorganised by the missiles of infantry. Once this was accomplished, other units could deliver the coup de grace. Tactics were therefore based on teamwork between units, or even armies. Every unit would have its own specific task and if they executed their tasks in unison, success was often achieved. The aim in this game, is not to annihilate the enemy’s units to the last man, but to inflict enough damage, indicated by chips, that morale is reduced and the unit will become shaken or will run away in panic and removed from the tabletop. By a clever combination of movement, shooting and dashing cavalry charges, this can be achieved. The tactics are based on teamwork. Not only within a group, but also between groups and as such, the whole army.

Your role will be that of a commander in an ancient or medieval army. Should more than two players per side be available, one of you will play the part of Commander-in Chief or general. Should any disagreement arise concerning the rules, we suggest you roll a dice. The one who rolls the highest number has it right, for now.

So onwards, to glory!

Sequence of Play:

making a plan

roll for initiative

Command (movement, including initiative moves)

shooting

hand-to-hand

An IGo UGo system

Cards or special dice (The dice have 0, 1, 2, 3 and B on them

0-3 dictates how many moves can be made by units in a Command.) are available separately.