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Almost Ilipa
With the Society of Ancients Ilipa Battle Day only a couple of weeks away it was time for a final test game with my 6 mil Carthaginians...
Simon MacDowall
Mar 5, 20243 min read
183 views
3 comments


Jacobite joy followed by tears
Having raised the highland clans we gathered yesterday to re-fight Falkirk Muir (1746) with the aim of restoring the rightful King James...
Simon MacDowall
Mar 2, 20242 min read
119 views
2 comments


Pavia 499 years on
Today, just three days after the 499th anniversary of the Battle of Pavia (24 Feb 1525), the French and Imperialists meet again. This...
Simon MacDowall
Feb 27, 20242 min read
398 views
2 comments


Aethelwulf's Revenge
The British leaders were feeling confident and perhaps a little cocky after their previous Dux Britanniarum victory over the Saxons in...
Simon MacDowall
Feb 19, 20243 min read
93 views
1 comment

Battle of Brothers
Following their defeat Somewhere in Spain, the Scipio Brothers (Gneaus and Publius) manage to withdraw in relatively good order to...
Simon MacDowall
Jan 21, 20243 min read
105 views
0 comments


The Treasure of Caer Colun
The Saxons, raiding deep into British held Caer Colun, stole the treasures of Praefectus Firmum Coquus but had to bury the loot in order...
Simon MacDowall
Jan 18, 20242 min read
84 views
3 comments

Somewhere in Spain 3rd C BC
It is finally time for my 6 mil Romans and Carthaginians to fight it out on the games table. I am also testing out changes to Legio VI...
Simon MacDowall
Dec 10, 20232 min read
415 views
2 comments


Stoke Field
Stoke Field (1487) is a most unusual and interesting battle, and the last engagement of the Wars of the Roses. After Bosworth the 10 year...
Simon MacDowall
Nov 13, 20233 min read
417 views
5 comments


The Prussians are Coming!
I know very little about the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 but I recently had the pleasure of playing the Prussians at a game of the...
Simon MacDowall
Nov 9, 20231 min read
84 views
4 comments


The Last Yorkists
Stoke Field (1487) was the last attempt by the Yorkists to regain the throne of England. These figures are also the last Yorkists I...
Simon MacDowall
Nov 8, 20231 min read
96 views
0 comments


Society of Ancients Convention 2023
After a false start due to local flooding I managed to make it to the Society of Ancients Convention at Madingley Hall, Cambridge. With...
Simon MacDowall
Oct 23, 20231 min read
455 views
3 comments


Battle in the Mist
At Barnet in the early hours of 14 April 1471, King Edward IV led his army through a thick mist to attack the Earl of Warwick’s...
Simon MacDowall
Oct 12, 20233 min read
219 views
1 comment


Manzikert Scenario
The full scenario for my Manzikert game is now available in the scenarios section of my website here. This includes full orders of battle...
Simon MacDowall
Sep 29, 20231 min read
90 views
0 comments


Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
Some years back we refought the Battles of the Boyne and Aughrim both of which the Jacobite players won. It seemed like a good idea to...
Simon MacDowall
Sep 28, 20233 min read
137 views
3 comments


Manzikert re-fought
In 1071 the East Roman Emperor Romanus IV gathered a huge army with the intent of breaking the growing power of the Seljuk Turks....
Simon MacDowall
Aug 19, 20233 min read
585 views
0 comments


King Edward Prevails
The semi-fictitious Wars of the Roses engagement at Newark (1471) makes for a really good two player game. A visit by Harry Sidebottom...
Simon MacDowall
Jul 12, 20232 min read
131 views
5 comments


Alp Arslan Considers
Faced with a far more numerous enemy at Manzikert, Sultan Muhammad Ibn Dawud Çağrı, known as Alp Arslan, considers his options. Alp...
Simon MacDowall
Jul 5, 20231 min read
66 views
1 comment


Mini Mantinea
A number of our group were unable to make it to the Society of Ancients Battle Day. Therefore I put on another Mantinea game with Alala!...
Simon MacDowall
Apr 26, 20232 min read
98 views
1 comment


Both sides win and lose
Last weekend I put on an Alala! game at the 19th Society of Ancients Battle Day featuring 2nd Mantinea (362 BC). As ever, the day was...
Simon MacDowall
Apr 5, 20233 min read
329 views
9 comments


A Hole in the Walls of Babylon
My 25mil Byzantine army has just its first table-top outing in more than 3 decades! The game was set in early AD 1061 when most of...
Simon MacDowall
Jan 19, 20233 min read
144 views
2 comments
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