PONTICS vs ROMANS

Revisiting my first published ancients wargame report

Absent the written record, I readily confess that I would be at a complete loss to recall the generalities and especially any details regarding the first ancients wargame I set up, played, typed a report about, and then sent the finished product in for consideration by the editor of a hobby publication. Fortunately, I have the July/August 1996 issue (Number 82) of MWAN, the Midwest Wargamer’s Association Newsletter, wherein Hal Thinglum was kind enough to include my very first and admittedly or embarrassingly amateur effort, which was titled, “SPRINGTIME IN PONTUS: An Ancients Wargame Report.” 

To be certain, the simplest course of action would have been to repeat the battle as described. Well, not as an exercise, but to set up a similar field and armies, and then see how much (or how little) my tabletop generalship had improved over the course of almost three decades. Various other courses of action could have been considered as well. For example, I could refight the scenario using a different set of rules. For another example, I could refight the scenario using larger forces containing various additional troop types, at least according to the rules selected and the respective army lists attached to those rules. Anyway.

The following maps and their captions provide a basic narrative of how this return to the early stage of my ancients wargaming ‘career’ was conducted. Acknowledging that the following introduction is redundant, this fictional but historical scenario was played using the GRAND TRIUMPH! rules. For further context and or to establish a kind of setting, let us say that it is late spring of 96 BC/BCE, and a sizable Roman army has been sent to deal with the problem that is Pontus.