ANCIENT WARFARE REDUX

INTRODUCTION
Board & card game for 2 players.
Battle between ancient armies.
Each figure represents a general, camp or unit of troops. 

VICTORY
You win if you destroy your opponents general or 8 of his units.
A Camp counts as 2 units.

THE MAP
Use a 8x8 chessboard for a small Battlefield.

THE MEN
Use chits or miniatures to represent units.

ARMY COMPOSITION
Every army has 1 General, 1 Camp, and 11 other units.
You may designate 2 of your units as “Elite”. 

CHOOSING ARMY COMPOSITION
Besides the obligatory General and Camp pick any 11 units from the
Unit list. 

DBA ARMIES
For DBA army lists please consult the following site: DBA Online
Disclaimer Note: DBA is a licensed copyrighted product.
This is merely a fan site.

UNITS TABLE NOTATION
Move = Maximum Move Limit.
Range = Unit may attack enemy units within this range.
Below is a listing of all possible unit types.

UNIT TYPE TABLE
Unit				Move	Range	Type	Notes:
Camp				0	1	D	
General 			4	1	-	Leader
Auxilia				3	1	SLI	
Warband				2	1	SHI	Germanics
Blades				2	1	SHI	
Spears				2	1	SHI	
Pikes				1	1	SHI	Macedonians
Horde				2	1	SHI	
Hoplites			2	1	SHI	Greeks
Legionnaires			2	1	SHI	Romans
Psiloi				3	2	MLI	(Peltasts)
Slingers			3	2	MLI	
Bows				3	2	MLI	
Longbows			2	3	MLI	English
Crossbows			2	3	MLI	Italians
Horse Archers			4	2	MLC	Parthians, Huns
Cataphracts			4	1	SHC	Byzantines (Knights)
Heavy Chariots			4	1	SHC	Babylonians
Light Chariots			4	2	MLC	Egyptians
Scythed Chariots 		4	1	SHC	Persians
Elephants			3	1	SHC	Carthagians, Indians
Artillery			1	4	MH	
War Wagons			2	2	DH	
S = Shock
M = Missile
D = Defensive
H = Heavy
L = Light
I = Infantry
C = Cavalry

SPECIAL ABILITY CARD EFFECTS TABLE
Unit:			Type	Special Ability:	Notes:	
General 		D	Rally			Rally any adjacent unit*
Auxilia			A/D	Open Formation		Only if in Rough ground
Warband			A	Berserker Frenzy	Attack
Blades			-	Efficient Killers 	Can Attack Twice per turn
Spears			A/D	Versatile Spears	Either vs Shock unit
Pikes			D	Receive Charge		Kill Shock Unit Attacking them	
Horde			-	Great Many		Start Game with 2 such units
Hoplites		D	Shield Wall		Defend
Legionnaires		A	Throw Pilum		Attack at range = 2
Psiloi			D+M	Run Away		Defend and Move Away = K
Slingers		A	Sling Stones		Attack	
Bows			-	High Rate of Fire	Can Attack Twice per turn
Longbows		A	Indirect Fire		Attack over unit
Crossbows		D	Defensive Fire		Defend
Horse Archers 		A+M	Parthian Shot		Attack and then Move Away = 2
Cataphracts		M+A	Charge		 	Move = 3 and then Attack
Light Chariots		-	Wheel About		Can Move twice per turn
Heavy Chariots		A	Bows			Attack at range = 2
Artillery		A	Indirect Fire		Attack over units		
Elephants		M+A	Trample			Move = 1 and then Attack
War Wagons		D	Strong Defense		Defend
Scythed Chariots 	A	Open Ground		Attack if on Clear ground
A player may play (discard) a special ability card to activate one of the above effects.
A = Attack type Special Ability
D = Defensive type Special Ability
M = Movement type Special Ability
X = Special type Special Ability
* = Rally: the target unit is not destroyed by an attack

SETUP
Each player places his units on his back two rows.
Units may not stack. 

THE CARDS
Players share a common deck. 

TURN SEQUENCE
Players take turns. 
Each turn has 3 phases:
Orders Phase
Move Phase
Battle Phase

ORDERS PHASE
Draw 3 cards. 
If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard and draw from it.
Max hand size = 5 cards.
Discard excess cards.

MOVE PHASE
Play (discard) a Move card to move one of your units. 
Units cannot move through other units except for Light 
Infantry who may move through their own troops.
The move card has a number. 
This is the maximum number of spaces the unit can move.
Moves are diagonal or orthogonal. 

ARMY ON THE MARCH RULE
Instead of moving just one unit in any direction, you have the 
option of moving one or more units forward the indicated number of 
spaces using a single move card.

BATTLE PHASE
Each of your units can make up to one attack on your turn.
To attack, play (discard) an Attack card to have a unit 
attack any enemy unit in its range. 
The Attacked unit must move back (retreat) exactly one space in 
the opposite direction of the Attack or be destroyed.
Any unit forced to retreat twice in the same turn is destroyed. 
Attacks can be diagonal or orthogonal. 
Units cannot attack over (through) other units.
The Defender may play a Defense card to negate a Target Attack.
Artillery cannot move and attack in the same turn.
Light Infantry Attacked by Heavy Cavalry is killed automatically.
(The LI does not get to retreat, it is overrun) 
Light Cavalry cannot attack Missile Infantry
(The MI will outshoot the LC and chase it away)
Heavy Cavalry cannot Attack Heavy Infantry that has not 
already been forced to retreat this turn. 
(Formed HI presents an impenetrable hedge of spears)
Cavalry and Light Infantry can retreat twice from Heavy Infantry 
attacks in the same turn without being destroyed. 
(The faster units easily evade the HI)
If forced to retreat Elephants are automatically destroyed.
Other Horse Cavalry will not attack Elephants.
(Horses are afraid of Elephants)

CARD LIST NOTATION
M = Movement
A = Attack
D = Defense
X = Other
Type = Purpose of card
K = as a Knight would move in chess
# = Number of that type of card in the deck

CARD LIST
Card Name:		#	Range	Type	Notes:
Trod			6	1	M
March			6	2	M
Fast Pace		5	3	M
Gallop			4	4	M
Run			4	K	M	Any unit with a Move of 3+
Charge  		3	1	M+A	Move 1 and then Attack 1
Attack			3	-	A	
Attack for Glory	3	-	A	Only if General within 2 Spaces
Supported Attack	3	-	A	Friendly unit must be adj to target
Outflank		3	-	A	Only by unit that moved this turn
Bloody Work		3	1	A	Only by Shock unit
Rain of Arrows		3	1	A	Only by Missile unit
Elite			3	-	A/D	Only by Elite unit
Push			3	-	A/D	Only by Heavy Infantry
Recoil			3	-	D	Move back 1 space
Reinforced		3	-	D	Friendly unit must be adjacent
Rally			3	-	D	Only if General within 2 Spaces
Skirmish		3	2	AMD	Only by Light units
Difficult Ground	3	-	X	Negate Target Move card
Special Ability 	8	-	X	Activate Unit's Special Ability
Scout			2	-	X	Look at opponents hand
A/D = Use as Attack or Defend card
M/D = Use as Move or Defend card
AMD = Use as Attack, Move, or Defend card

TERRAIN TYPES
Distribute terrain as you see fit:
Clear = No modifications
Rough = All Units except LI must stop upon entering Rough.
War Wagons cannot enter Rough.
Hills = Missile units get range +1
Impassable = No units may enter this space.





FAQ SECTION
Q) Special Ability Cards and regular Move/Attack/Defend-type cards 
all are in the common deck together?  
A) Yes, all mixed in.

Q) Are there are actually separate "Special Ability Cards" in addition 
to the eight "Activate Unit's Special Ability" cards in the regular deck?
A) No. The 8 Special Ability cards can be used to activate any 
target units SA. 

Q) Units listed as "D" (Camp & War Wagons) still need to use a Defend
card when attacked?
A) Yes

Q) Does the Camp "pack up and move" one space if successfully
attacked, or is it destroyed on the first attack?
A) Good point. I rule that it is destroyed (...and Looted)

Q) Can War Wagons ever attack?
A) Yes (They are limited because some of the attack cards specify 
unit types, like Infantry, which they are not)

Q) When are Special Ability Cards (SAC) played?  
A) When appropriate according to the target Unit's Special Ability. 

Q) If a SAC was played in movement phase then are you 
barred from playing one in attack phase that turn?
A) The only real limit is that a given unit can only move once and 
attack once per turn (regardless if it was a regular or special 
move or attack). Plus, you can move/attack with multiple 
units each turn, until you run out of cards. 

Q) Can a SAC be played in lieu of regular Attack/Defense (E.g.
Versatile Spears can either attack or defend against any Shock Unit
by playing this card only; Slingers attack by playing this card only)?
A) Yes

Q) Auxilia Special Ability is "Open Formation IF in rough ground?"
A)This SA allows them to use a Special Ability card as either an 
Attack card or a Defense card if they are in a rough ground space. 

Q) Warband Special Ability is "Berserker Frenzy."  This is an
attack, which they could do anyway with an attack card. What is the
benefit of this ability?
A) It gives them (8) more cards in the deck they can attack with
(cards are a limited resource)

Q)   Horde Special Ability: Is the extra Horde considered a 
double-strength unit or is it a separate piece on the board?
A) It's a separate piece. 

Q) Chariots are considered Cavalry, such that they cannot attack
Elephants?
A) Yes they won't attack Elephants.



LINKS
Fanaticus
War Gaming Club   German