In my professional life, I do my best to be logical and organised, I have detailed plans and schedules. However, when it comes to my hobbies, it’s a bit different: I still make a reasonable effort to be logical and organised… but I have to be careful to find the right balance, because if I overdo it, it just kills the fun. Therefore my hobby plans are a bit fuzzier, and I allow plenty of room for changes, unscheduled activities and impulse buys, which is what this post is about.
When I visited Dark Sphere in Shepherd’s Bush, I didn’t have the slightest intention to buy anything, but I run into a pile of new stuff with ancient battles, Roman legions and Gauls… I really did my best to resist, but the Roman legions are my long-time favourites, it was a complete starter set with a rulebook, and even the price tag showed a reassuringly low number, so I’ve bought a box of SPQR Starter set.
I also purchased a box of Legionaries with swords and slings as ranged units are a must have, a Scorpion team, as artillery is useful too and the Gaul Heroes, as they also deserve a bit of a boost.
This was a classic impulse purchase. I have plenty of minis to paint, but it was love at first sight. I always wanted to play historical wargames, but the abundance of available rules and systems, and the different scales were confusing. On top of this, the idea to have a whole army with hundreds of miniatures was rather discouraging too. However, this set offered everything I needed to get started, in a 32x23cm box. I might regret it later, but it seemed to be a manageable starting point.
What are the contents of the box?
In total that’s 60 pieces of 28mm figures, with a good variation of heads, arms and equipment. The heroes and the archers are made of a slightly flexible resin, while the rest of the figures are made of plastic. The minis are of good quality and are well detailed, the arms and the heads can be glued in many different positions. Decals are included for the shields, that will make painting easier. Considering the price, the number and the quality of the figures, this is definitely good value for money.
The Romans are from the late republican or Caesarean era, wearing chainmail (lorica hamata) and Montefortino helmets, having oval shields, pilum and gladius. The Gaul warriors have a mix of armour (chainmail, clothe, and bare chest), and all are equipped with swords or short spears and shields.
The rulebook looks good quality, every page has either a picture or a nice photo of the miniatures. The core rules are explained in 15 pages, and even the advanced rules are fully covered by page 55(!), which is very lean. If you want a set of simple rules that can be learned quickly, this one is a good option for you. The remaining pages introduce the 12 warbands and the mercenaries (late Republican and Imperial Rome, Dacia & Sarmatia, Iberia, Gauls, Macedonia, Persia, Thebes, Sparta, Athen, Britain, Germania). Every warband has its special units, heroes, rules and scenarios. In total, you get more than 40 scenarios in the book. Having all the rules, all the warbands and this many scenarios in one set is a huge advantage, since there are systems where you have to buy and learn 3-4 books to achieve the same.
The rules are very simple, which has a price: sometimes they seem to be over-simplified and a bit more explanation would be helpful as there is room for misinterpretation. There are a few questionable points too (pilum breaks the opponent’s charge but doesn’t cause any damage, cavalry unit speed seems to be off, etc…), however, as long as the players agree how to interpret a rule and what house-rules they want to use, it can work.
After a few hours of playing and considering these minor drawbacks, I can say that the system is playable and fun, with the emphasis on fun: it’s not a fully detailed and painstakingly accurate battle simulation, but a quick and fun-to-play skirmish game, with heroic action in ancient battles. It can be a gateway to more complex wargames, without too much commitment.
I’m definitely looking forward to spending more time with this game, to running campaigns and to playing all the scenarios. I’m also curious to see how it works with larger armies.
As you can guess, I already started painting the army, and I’ll keep you updated on the progress.
“Alea iacta est!”