A Few Sample Surveys, Reporting the Results, and other Remarks

The appetite for staging another solo wargame and writing up another blog post about the experience or experiment being much diminished if not completely absent, I sought distraction (or perhaps equally if not more satisfying substitute sustenance) by digging around in some data and then attempting to figure out what the meaning or meanings of the “things” that were “uncovered” might be. Anyway, lacking a formal plan or even the skeleton of an outline (Halloween doth make its approach; oddly enough, some homes already had decorations up in the early days of September), I started this amateur excavation with a post (technically, it was a reply) made by one Andreas Johansson on January 06 of 2014 to the discussion thread: “What was the last game you played?” Before proceeding, it seems good form to educate or at least orient that figurative if also even smaller in number Sacred Band of appreciated readers who may not be familiar with this specific as well as long-running discussion thread.

Way back on May 06 of 2012, a person by the name of Andy Badger (employing the identifier or moniker ‘andyb’) asked and answered his own question. Interested readers may be able to find the original post by visiting https://soa.org.uk/sm/, and then looking for “What was the last game you played?” under ‘General Discussion,’ which is easy to find under the heading or label GENERAL CATEGORY. If they would rather not bother with the necessary typing and clicking on links, I have transcribed that “ancient” initiating post below. In so doing, I have resisted the temptation - pedantic in nature, to be certain - to clean up the grammar, punctuation and spacing. For the sake of simplicity, I have also substituted words for the two emojis Andy employed over 13 years ago. Anyway, here is the first metaphorical brick laid down for a large building or structure that could be described as a kind of legacy - though the construction process strikes me as much more of a collaborative as well as continuous effort. 

Well as the title says really, what was the last ancient/dark ages/medieval

wargame you played? Mine was today!! [big smiley face emoji] DBM Pyrrhic vs 

Polybian Roman 350ap (my usual army size). Fought solo as are most my games

using non-player solo rules which give each general a characteristic (Cautious,

Aggressive,Defensive etc). This characteristic then influences how they react to 

situations. I used 6mm figures as I have a large collection (6 box files worth at 

last count [shocked face emoji]) of 6mm Ancients. 

In the interest of transparency, Andy edited his post on May 07 of 2012. When I last checked on this historical text, it was noted that one person had clicked on the ‘Like’ icon. As far as I am aware, there is no way of knowing how many times or by whom this original answer has been viewed. Additionally, as far as I am aware, this is the only contribution Andy has made to the discussion thread he started. However, I do know that as of the morning (in this time zone) of October 06, 2025, this question-based discussion thread has been viewed 45,721 times, and has generated 4,171 replies. It might be suggested that this works out to an average of 3,517 views and 321 replies per year. Anyway, having developed an apparent preoccupation with arguably dated information that is probably ignored by the vast majority of Society Members as well as Guests to The Society of Ancients Forums, I thought I would attempt to scale the small mountain of information provided for the 2014 calendar year. This 12-month period was chosen because it was the first year with a sufficient but not too large a number of posts. The posts counted for the previous years were 20 for 2013, and 34 for 2012. Anyway.

A careful reading of the January 06, 2014 post made by Andreas Johansson was broken down into the following possible categories for a simple spreadsheet or series of spreadsheets:

> Name of Identity of Author or Contributor

> Scale of miniatures used

> Rules employed

> Opposing armies 

> Length of brief, description, or summary

> Historical refight - yes or no? If yes, which battle?

> Historical scenario

> Counterfactual scenario

> Demonstration game

> Tournament game or games

> Solo wargame

To be certain, I was not trying to create more “work” for myself. I was trying to anticipate the variety of categories or labels that might be needed, that might prove useful when it came to understanding this figurative if not veritable jungle of data. In hindsight, it would have been ideal if Andy had established a certain format for the presentation of these answers or responses, and all those who followed in his footsteps had adhered to this format. 

Reviewing the posts that fell within the calendar time frame I was considering, it was noted that these electronic bits and pieces of conversation began with Number 55 and ended with Number 249. Simple subtraction informed that I had 189 replies to read and process, then. Setting myself a goal or benchmark of 18 per day (perhaps even as many as 25), I retied my work boots, took a long drink of water, made sure my 2-way radio was turned to the right channel, checked my hi-vis vest, then put my gloves, goggles and hardhat back on, and finally, really started to dig. Figuratively of course. All of this “work” was done while seated in a fairly comfortable and supportive computer desk chair, and in a temperature controlled room, quite safe from any significant environmental or occupational hazards. Well, there is eye strain and “rear area fatigue” and carpal tunnel to worry about . . .  

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A Summary of the Games Last Played in 2014

As the first post of this particular calendar year was provided by Andreas Johansson, I think it makes sense to begin with an “analysis” of those who posted answers or descriptions, as well as those who joined in the electronic conversation with comments, remarks, and questions. Before “jumping into the deep-end with both feet,” I would like to apologize in advance to the reader for the format of the following information. I do not have much experience with preparing these kinds of summaries, and as I explained or intimated above, I am not specifically trained or well versed in making sense of collected data and information. 

Andreas was one of a small group of 20 identified individuals who shared accounts of the games they had last played. Together, these historical wargamers produced 80 answers or briefs for readers to scan, read carefully, or simply pass over. Andreas was the work-horse of this select group, generating 24 mini-reports of his tabletop experiences. Justin Swanton (a former editor of Slingshot, but not until a number years after 2014) earned the silver medal with 11 posts. Duncan Head took a respectable third place with 8 accounts. These three typed nearly 54 percent of all the answers or brief descriptions provided. 

On the non-reporting side of this conversation, there were 17 participants. Patrick Waterson (who passed away in January of 2020, and whose significant absence is still felt by some) was very involved with what was going on, as evidenced by his 17 posts. Dave Hollin (aka ‘Imperial Dave’ and another former editor of Slingshot [after Justin’s tenure]) made 14 comments. Coincidentally, Justin demonstrated a level of comfort with both sides of the discussion, generating 11 comments. Duncan Head and Roy Boss (aka ‘aligern’) tied for fourth place, posting 9 remarks each. 

The total number of comments added up to 106. There were 80 posts offering brief descriptions of games. This combined total is just three posts off of my previous calculation of 189 posts or replies in this calendar year, so it looks like I am within the traditional error margin of most political polls (plus or minus three points) - though I am not sure if that comparison is a good thing, especially in these divisive, frightening, unprecedented, and rather or very stressful times. Anyway. 

In going over this spreadsheet, I noticed that there were a few individuals who had shared an account or accounts of their recent wargames, but had not taken the time to comment or remark on other posts. Similarly, there were a few gentleman who elected to focus more on commenting than anything else. The best example of this would be the aforementioned Patrick Waterson. He was indefatigable, very knowledgeable, and as I recall, generous as well as kind. Would that The Society had more like him. 

While processing this material, I made the following notes that might or might not be of interest to readers and admittedly, have little to do with surveying and summarizing a selection of data. First, there was no format about how these briefs or descriptions should be presented. As such, there was no apparent length limit. In a post dated for September 24, there were 1,291 words spent in describing a game and the rules employed by the player-generals. In December, an individual posted one mini-report that was 519 words in length. He followed this with another that contained 937 words. Dave Hollin and Roy Boss appeared to be “birds of a feather,” in that they both posted a summary of a game that had been played. These respected veterans waited until the end of the year to do so, however. (Roy shared his in late November; Dave shared his in December. For the record, Dave’s was one of the few a solo scenarios offered.) Finally, in his only contribution to the year’s worth of conversation, ‘Chuck the Grey’ informed readers that he had introduced his granddaughter to the hobby. Evidently, she enjoyed the Greeks vs Persians contest and was able to defeat her doting opponent. My guess is that she would be in college now. I wonder if she still has any interest in or involvement with ancient wargaming or other aspects of the larger hobby?

In reviewing the other categories used in this very amateur collection and assessment, it was found that the scale of miniatures employed was hardly ever mentioned. Evidently, scale was assumed. My guess is that 15mm models were dominant. Then again, there could have been a fairly even division between 15mm and 25mm. While I am known (at least I think I may be) for not using miniatures, I do know that there is a difference between 6mm, 10mm, 15mm and 25/28mm models. The various posts and reports only indicated miniature scale six times - that I was able to catch anyway. These were of 25mm troops. Four of the games were from the “25mm Climb British Camp” event. I recorded 60 wargame stories that made no mention of scale at all. I probably should have saved myself a little trouble and time, and stopped keeping track after I had reached 30 or 35. Shifting to a look at the types of games played, historical scenarios outnumbered counterfactual engagements by nearly 3 to 1. In this spreadsheet, the historically plausible battles (shared time period and geography, etc.) added up to 64, while the ahistorical but equally fun battles added up to 22. This comparison did not include the specific mention of historical refights, of which there were five. These were: Montaperti, Cynoscephalae, Raphia, Ipsus, and Bouvines. Aaron Bell (aka ‘Prufrock’) hosted two of these contests, trying to out-general the well known Luke Ueda-Sarson in LOST BATTLES versions of Raphia and Ipsus. 

With regard to the armies present on these various and wide-ranging tabletops, the Romans were a distinct favorite (or favourite), with Marian forces being deployed 20 times, and their Polybian relatives being arranged for battle 10 times. Later Carthaginians took the field seven times, while Seleucids marched into action on half a dozen occasions. Mithridatic forces were right behind the Seleucids, and Ptolemaic Egyptians were tied with Liao Khitans for the next spot, being used four times each. Given the number of wargames reported on, there was, as one might expect, quite a mix of armies compiled. The following six armies might give the reader an idea of the “Brobdingnagian buffet” of troops that were employed: Mauryan Indians, Chola Empire, Ghaznavids, Illyrians, Scots-Irish, and Warring States Chinese - Ch’in.

The various armies were commanded or operated with, by my double-checked count, a total of 26 separate rulebook titles. That is to explain, I transcribed what was provided in the accounts that were studied. This current total will probably be corrected by those with more experience and knowledge, and I sincerely appreciate the interest and look forward to this and other feedback. 

Of the 110 mentions of rules, DBMM led the way (and comfortably so) with 20. Its closest competitor was DBA 3.0, which registered 14 employments. Coming in third, as it were, was DBM and DBMM 200, each rulebook having 11 mentions. Having no actual experience with the DBM or DBMM rules, it occurs to me that these editions might be variations on a theme. For example, DBMM 100, 200, and 400 are just DBMM with guidelines for army size, right? Is there that much of a difference, really, between DBMM and DBMM2? What about DBM 3.2 and DBM 3.3? The same clarification might be asked for with regard to DBA (which had 7 mentions), DBA 2.2 (5 mentions), and DBA 3.0. Stipulating to the age of this data set, I would suggest that many of these rulesets are still being played today. At the same time, I think it would be safe to remark that there are likely 26 different rule titles now available. 

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Reviewing Five Years of Battle Reports 

As I consider how this section might be organized and what content should be included, it occurs to me that one could describe battle reports, at least those posted to the Battle Reports section of the Gaming label - again, under the high-flying SoA Forums banner, as steroid-infused responses to “What was the last game you played?” Anyway, as I make a note to develop a better description of these battle reports and think further about the potential sibling rivalry between these contributions or submissions and the posts studied in the previous section, I thought I would start by offering a list of the authors for the period being surveyed, 2012 - 2016. Please note that this list will also include the number of times these gentlemen published something to this dedicated and topic-based forum. 

Philip Sabin - 1 Simon Clark - 17

Justin Taylor - 6 Paul Innes - 17

Dave Knight - 1 Justin Swanton - 7

Andreas Johansson - 1 Chris - 34

Aaron Bell - 3 William Butler - 8

Rob Broom - 1 George Anderson - 4

To begin, it strikes me as interesting as well as ironic that the good professor would christen this particular sub-forum with a the report of a solo wargame that was played using “boardgame components” from his own LOST BATTLES rules. At the same time, it occurs to me that this posted report would be completely appropriate if it was part of the discussion thread for “What was the last game you played?” In fact, I would not have cried foul or remarked that it was bad form, if Professor Sabin (aka ‘pagsab’) had crossposted this summary in both places. Then again, the accomplished and respected academic would have had to establish the discussion thread, thereby stealing Andy Badger’s thunder (and maybe lightning as well) by about five months.

His engaging report of a refight of the historical battle of Raphia runs to 541 words. The account includes a single attached photo, so this long-standing and well regarded member of The Society of Ancients added another first to this post. Closer study revealed an apparent contradiction or at least potential inconsistency. This debut battle report has been viewed 3,511 times as of early October 2025. However, the attached picture has only been viewed 40 times. I confess to being at a loss as to how to explain this canyon-size difference between the two numbers. Setting that question aside, the number of views spawned an idea or at least something resembling a hypothesis. I wondered, if I were to record 3,511 views on a new spreadsheet and then check every Saturday or Sunday for the next 10 to 12 weeks to see if this number had changed, if I would have to input any number other than 3,511? My hunch is that there would be no change at all in this accumulated views number. The reason seems fairly obvious. Why would Society Members and or Guests visiting The SoA Forums bother with or want to go back 13 years and read about a refight of Raphia that was done without traditional miniatures and played with a challenging but reportedly very good set of rules? It seems that one might craft an argument or draft a memo/position paper making the case for either the archiving or the deletion of battle reports older than a certain number of years. Maybe this measure would free up some space within the Forums. Perhaps the archived material could be formatted onto a memory stick/flash drive, just like those 300-plus issues of Slingshot. The irony and interest of this initial post is also present as Professor Sabin did not contribute another battle report in the subsequent years that were reviewed. Then again, and to his credit, the prolific wargamer-writer submitted article after article to the journal published by The Society. 

Checking the membership details of ‘Lurkio,’ otherwise known as Simon Clark to family, friends, and coworkers, it was noted that he had managed 110 posts between his date of registering, February 20 in 2012, and his last recorded date of activity, May 31 of this year. Seventeen of those posts were made to the Battle Reports sub-forum. Over the years, these have garnered 28,925 views and generated 28 replies. Unfortunately, while I could view his invitations to read after-action reports on his blog, all attempts to connect to the provided links resulted in “404 NOT FOUND” messages. I was able to recover some bits and pieces, however. For instance, in 2013, Simon employed a Gallic army against Later Macedonians and then Palmyrans. Evidently, Field of Glory rules were used. Then in 2014, with the same rules, I saw that Simon commanded Later Crusaders against Hungarians, Later Crusaders, Ghaznavids, and Fatamid Egyptians. 

Again, no blog posts or other evidence of a wargame competition was found, unfortunately. However, I did find some useful or working battle reports offered by Simon. One of these was about refighting the Teutoburg Wald, and another offered a scenario titled “Escape from Aliso.” This moderate success was canceled out by the frustration generated when trying to view Simon’s post “Battle of Stamford Bridge - Mortem et Gloriam.” Perhaps a reader or readers might have better luck? Anyway, given that the majority of ‘Lurkio’s’ posts are not functioning, the deletion of these posts might be justifiable. As with the previous summary, it does seem reasonable to ask if anyone is looking into battle reports from 9, 10 or as many as 11 years ago.  

After an initial post about a Warhammer Tournament, Justin Taylor (active as a Guest and not a Society Member) shared a handful of reports about games played with The Die is Cast rules. One of these was a refight of the historical action of Magnesia, while most of the other engagements involved 6mm Late Romans. To my growing disappointment and frustration, I was not able to view these battle reports in their entirety. It appears that the versions published in The SoA Forums and those on his blog do not present the photos. Setting aside this problem or problems, I wonder if Justin is still involved with Ancients, and I wonder if it would be worth my while to look for or even purchase a copy of those rules. For the sake of consistency, I should like to add or note that the posts by Justin have been viewed a total of 20,746 times, and have generated 17 replies. 

With an impressive track record of 17 posts over this limited time span, it is not at all surprising to see that Paul Innes accumulated 55,236 views, and received 90 comments or remarks. Technically, not all of these posts were reports. There were updates on his long-running and engaging Empire Campaign; there was a question about software for battle maps, and there was a post titled “Scenario for Hastings.” Generally speaking however, Dr. Innes provided excellent and varied repasts for any hungry visitors to this particular sub-forum. This well established blogger and veteran historical wargamer shared refights of five historical battles with those potential customers. Paul provided colorful accounts of Heraclea, Ilipa, Chalons, Plataea, and Hydaspes. For a closer look at the last contest, please see  https://caliban-somewhen.blogspot.com/2015/08/hydaspes-at-claymore.html. These reports of refights were matched by his other contributions. At the risk of admitting a level of bias, I will include the following link: http://caliban-somewhen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/battle-of-sulga-121-bc-romans-against.html. 

On the opposite end of this picture-filled and productive spectrum, Dave Knight submitted just a single battle report, but it contained summaries of two games. His effort had been viewed 2,578 times and has received a single reply. Fortunately, the provided link still works, and the blog post can be viewed at https://leadwarriordavek.blogspot.com/2012/07/impetus-25mm-or-15mm.html.

Based on my review, it appears that Justin Swanton divided his time and effort, at least when writing and posting to this particular sub-forum, between the development of a set of rules called Optio, and working on the animation of battle reports. These dual goals earned him 15,717 views and 32 comments or reactions from readers. As far as I have been able to follow the progress of Optio, I think it has been completed and has received decent marks. I am not sure if it widely available however, and so do not know if it has been widely embraced. I do know that Justin’s animated report of a DBA battle between Carthage and Rome is still on YouTube. When last checked, it had been viewed 3.5K times and had generated 17 comments. If interested, please see https://www.youtube.com/@hurrellfroude2802. 

The single report offered by Andreas Johansson has received 2,852 views and 3 replies. This summary was an account of his experience at a “one-dayer” DBMM competition, and even though it took place in early October of 2013 (12 years ago - almost to the day), it reminded me very much of his numerous posts made in the “What was the last game you played?” discussion thread. On further review, it seems that this battle report of three games would fit perfectly well in that related space. It also seems fair to suggest that Andreas made a decision to spend more of his time posting to that discussion thread, than drafting and posting “proper” reports to this sub-forum. 

If the post inquiring about a length limit to battle reports is removed, then Chris, a registered Society Member since September 23 of 2013, still has 32 wargame accounts or summaries to his name. This “body of work” has accumulated 157,012 views, and attracted 247 replies. He has shared reports of eight historical refights, ranging - alphabetically at least - from Brunanburgh to Pydna to Watling Street. Like a few others, Chris staged a version of Hydaspes, which makes this well known contest the most popular refight within this small group of authors who were active during this particular time frame. Plenty of historical scenarios were played. These ranged from 1324 BCE to the Wars of the Roses. Counterfactuals were also fairly well represented by this Society Member during this bundle of years. The post of his that attracted the most attention was titled “Alexander versus Caesar.” Well, technically, the majority of the discussion was not about the battle report, but about the hypothetical or hypotheticals it raised. The conversation that followed took on a life of its own, as is sometimes said, and often happens in these sub-forums. Taking a few minutes to review the content of this particular back and forth between more learned Society Members, it was noted that Patrick Waterson was in the thick of it. 

In the three reports provided by Aaron Bell (aka ‘Prufrock,’ a former officer of The Society), he shared a refight of Sentinum played with LOST BATTLES. There was another LOST BATTLES engagement, based on history but not an actual refight. In his third offering, this well known blogger provided a link to a site where one could see naval rules and miniatures in action on the tabletop. Even though naval warfare makes up a considerable part of ancient military history, the subject has not received a lot of attention in the pages of Slingshot. The reasons for this are varied, of course, but there seems to be a distinct preference for land-based contests. Anyway, Aaron’s posts have been viewed a total of 7,217 times, and have generated 11 remarks or replies.  

The large tabletops essentially carpeted with 6mm figures shared by William Butler were viewed a total of 13,305 times, and were only spectacular enough, evidently, to generate 34 replies. This California-based historical wargamer’s focus was refights, at least as evidenced by the reports and or links shared with interested readers. William and his friends refought Raphia three times and Asculum twice. Callinicum, Hydaspes and Marathon also made this short but substantial list. In my opinion, the reader’s time would not be wasted if they were to check out: https://18clovehamhock.blogspot.com/2014/03/conquest-sacramento.html. More time could be spent on this related site, which was referenced by William. Please see https:www.youtube.com/@brictator. Maybe, at some point in the not too distant future, The Society of Ancients Battle Day will have a tabletop or two featuring “fighting” Lego models. 

The War & Conquest rules were employed by Rob Broom and his colleagues to stage “a terrific battle, (with) around 5,000 points a side.” Unfortunately, the teaser photo could not be viewed in the original sub-forum post. Clicking on the provided link, I was informed and rather disappointed but not all that surprised to see the message: THIS PAGE CANNOT BE FOUND. Rob’s 2014 report or invitation to a report that is no longer in existence, has been viewed 2,395 times and has 2 replies. 

A degree of irony is duly noted. Had I not selected this group of years to “research,” I would have never stumbled across the handful of posts made by a gentleman named George Anderson (aka ‘Old Guy’). After a brief look at his blog (I will be returning when I have a spare hour or two), I confess that I am surprised to see that his efforts have received so little attention. His reports have been viewed 8,830 times, and have been commented upon a total of 10 times. Anyway, it seems only right and proper to share this discovery (however late) with the reader who may, I understand, already be familiar with the impressive and inspiring work of this ‘Old Guy.’ Please see

www.musingswargameslife.blogspot.co.uk.

To review. In the space of five years, 12 individuals with an interest in ancient wargaming, produced approximately 100 battle reports and posts to this particular sub-forum. To put this “combined effort” in context, here are records of production or number of posts made by several “celebrity-like” wargaming bloggers in 2014:

> Simon Miller managed 118 posts. (Please see https://bigredbat.blogspot.com/.)

> Eric made 111 posts. (Please see https://shedwars.blogspot.com/.)

> Jon achieved 175 posts. (Please see https://plaousewargamingjournal.blogspot.com/.)

> James shared 69 posts. (Please see https://olicanalad.blogspot.com/.)

Earlier, I pondered the relevance and or value of dated material. The years covered by this summary are 2012 - 2016. Double-checking, I see that Chris provided a report of a fictional battle between New Kingdom Egyptians and Hittites in the first third of December, 2016 - so nearly nine years ago. Would current Society Members and Guests be negatively impacted if this particular account and all the other reports going back to 2012 were either archived (i.e., removed from The SoA Forums) or simply deleted in order to free up some space for future Society Members, Guests, and their yet-t0-be-written battle reports? 

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Matters and Mysteries of a Members List 

Three issues of Slingshot were secured from their dedicated and labeled storage bin. 

I proceeded to open each and copy down the names of most of the contributors listed on the Contents pages. My next step was to search for their respective names on the Members List, which can be found on The Society of Ancients Forums, and then copy and paste their information into one of several reference or work-in-progress documents that were open on my computer. The following, for lack of a more engaging introduction and for what it may prove to be worth, is what I was able to find on a rather warm day in early October of 2025. 

From Issue 347 - July/August of 2023:

> There was no match found for James Morris.

> Lawrence Greaves is a Society Member, and registered on April 04 of 2012. He was last active on February 28 of 2024. His interests are, “Anything that looks fun or interesting,” and he has made 55 posts. (I should note - for the grammarians and pedants out there - that the interests of each author or Society Member are being transcribed as they were listed.) 

> Dave Hollin is a Committee Member as well as a much respected former editor of Slingshot. This accomplished and prolific gentleman registered on October 06 of 2012, and unsurprisingly, was last active today. (This line is being typed/was typed on October 02 of 2025.) His interests are, “Ancients, Dark Ages, collecting rulesets!” As of this moment, Dave (aka ‘Imperial Dave’) has contributed 22,017 posts discussions and topics of various forums. 

> Simon Watson is a Society Member and is interested in “Ancients - BC, Tactica 2, et. al.” This veteran wargamer registered on April 22 of 2013, and was last active on September 23 of 2025. Simon has been responsible for 1,457 posts. 

> There was no match found for Simon MacDowall, which I found rather odd, given his numerous contributions to Slingshot, and given the numerous games he has run at Society Conventions. 

> Steven Neate is listed as a Former Officer. He is also a former editor. This gentleman registered on February 22 of 2012 and was last active today - October 02 of 2025. Over the years, he has produced 1,154 posts. 

> Jim Webster is a Society Member and prolific contributor to the pages of Slingshot. He registered on February 19, 2012 and was last active today, just like Steven. Jim has posted many more times, however, accumulating a current total of 6,900. (Note: Initially, I stumbled across Society Member James Webster and thought I had found a match. ‘James W’ registered on September 21 of 2022 and was last active on June 16 of 2025. This Society Member has 4 posts on his record.) 

> Anthony Clipsom (aka ‘Erpingham’) has the impressive title of Global Moderator. (One cannot help but think of the “With great power . . .” quote.) His interests fall into a couple of categories: “Medieval warfare, Old school, home made rules.” This well regarded Society Member registered on February 19 of 2012, and like Steven and Jim above, was last active in the forums today. Over the course of his tenure, Anthony has made 12,666 posts. 

> Duncan Head is another Former Officer. He has provided 7,080 posts for other members to consider and reply to over the course of his membership. Duncan registered on May 29 of 2012, and was last active today - still October 02 of 2025. 

From Issue 336 - May/June of 2021:

> There were no matches discovered for either Gordon Lawrence or Andrew Parrock. 

> David Mason is a Society Member, whose interests are, “More gaming than history. Also amateur brain surgery.” David registered on February 04 of 2021 and was last active on November 28 of 2022. In between operations, office hours, and however else amateur neurosurgeon’s fill their day, David has managed to submit 24 posts. 

> Chris Hahn is another Society Member. However, this position is questionable, given the information contained on the Society’s website. Anyway, as that status is reviewed and confirmed or not, he is recorded as registering on September 23 of 2013 and obviously, was last active today, although the time spent in the forums was to conduct a bit of “research” instead of posting or catching up on other discussion threads. On that particular subject, his details show that 1,512 posts have been made over the course of approximately 12 years. 

> In my initial search, there was no match found for David Knight. However, I recalled seeing his name in one of the many forums and happened to have another reference page (used for one of those many poor previous drafts now lying crumpled or torn in half [figuratively] by someone quite frustrated) containing the key to his information. As one might expect, he is a Society Member. David registered on February 19 of 2012, and was last active on October 01 of 2025. (I just missed him.) With sweeping interests of “Miniature gaming through all recorded and imagined time and space, history, visiting historic sites,” it is not surprising to see that this gentleman has made 1,173 posts.  

From Issue 326 - September/October of 2019:

> There was no match found for Nicholas Spratt. 

> William Butler is a Society Member with wide-ranging interests. These are, “All periods from Ancient to SciFi future.” He is the second resident of the United Sates on this short list. William, or perhaps Bill, lives in California, which could be a lovely and prosperous country of its own/on its own, really. Anyway, Will registered on February 19 of 2012, and was last active on December 22 of 2022. This fellow American has made 249 posts. 

> Mark Grindlay is a Society Member whose interests are, “History, Wagaming.” He has produced 2,881 posts since registering on February 20 of 2012. Mark joins a growing crowd of members who were last active today - October 02 of 2025. 

> Mick Hession is a Society Member. He registered on February 19 of 2012, and was last active today. Mick has contributed 902 posts, and his stated interests are, “Mainstream wargaming. All ancient periods/areas but especially medieval/Irish & Far East.” 

> Aaron Bell (aka ‘Prufrock’) is another Former Officer. This accomplished wargamer, blogger, and contributor to the pages of Slingshot registered on February 26 of 2012. Between that date and this morning (or whatever the time is/was in New Zealand), Aaron has offered 1,424 posts.  

> There was no match found for Richard Taylor. 

___________________

So, what can be done with this bullet-pointed collection of material? What possible conclusions, if any, can be drawn? What postulations can be made? How does this third section relate to the rest of this work-in-progress blog post or perhaps eventually submitted article? 

Taking these questions in the order they were posed, well . . . let me think for a minute.

I confess that I am not quite sure what, if anything, can be done with this selective or sampling survey of a handful of authors of Slingshot articles. These 20 names were copied from three issues of the long-running publication. When I last checked on the printing and mailing status of the current issue of Slingshot, I saw that Number 359 - July/August 2025 was available. If my basic math is correct, then these three journals represent 0.008 percent of all the issues that have reached the hands of casual readers as well as subscribers. I suppose it might prove somewhat interesting to check this short list of names against the Slingshot Index, and develop - maybe - a more complete list of contributions by these individuals. In as much as I have studied the bios of these 20 persons, it appears that a fair to large percentage of them became Society Members in 2012. Taking a very close look at the posting rates of this small group, it seems possible to figure out how much they have contributed to the total number of posts, or at least what the total number was when that information was accessed and then copied and pasted earlier today. 

Fourteen of the 20 authors combined for 59,494 posts. The ‘Info Center/Forum Stats’ section of the main page informs that there are, or were when checked, 122,047 posts. In addition, it also reports a membership strength of 805. Curiously or interestingly, I guess it depends on one’s perspective, the number online was divided into 25 Guests and 6 Users. (Over the course of a week or so, Guests always outnumbered Members. If only there was a way to convince these numerous Guests to register, subscribe, and contribute.) Excluding myself from this shorter list, I was familiar with three of the five Users remaining. Anyway. 

As a percentage of the grand total, the combined posts of the aforementioned 14 Society Members add up to around 49 (o.487), or essentially half of all manner of communications, from single emojis offered as a friendly or clever reaction/reply, to quoted text from another member and then expanding on that point or points, to battle reports that can run to 800 or more words in length and may even include pictures. If I were to rank the top four posters, the gold medal would easily go to Dave Hollin, though even he might agree to the addition of an asterisk next to this laudable accomplishment. Anthony Clipsom would get the silver, while Duncan Head would secure the bronze. Jim Webster would come in a very close fourth, so maybe he would receive an endorsement deal or two. Maybe. Revising my calculations for this subset of data or posts, it was found that these “four fantastic horsemen of the forums,” or perhaps just “fantastic four of the forums” account for 48,663 posts. This works out to 0.398, or essentially 40 percent of all posts made since the establishment and opening of The Society of Ancients Forums. (I briefly tried to find out or determine when this auspicious event took place, but was not successful. I think it may be safe to hazard a very rough guess of around 2010, plus or minus a couple of years.) 

The 20 authors/contributors selected represent just 0.024 percent of all the members - again, as of this typing. Obviously, this percentage decreases when the field is narrowed to 14 or just those standing on and around the figurative medal ceremony podium. Is it reasonable then, to express a degree of concern about so much productivity issuing forth from the minds, hands, and keyboards of a potential quartet? Not having processed the entire Members List and tabulated this and that piece of information from the details secured, it seems safe to suggest (i.e., guess) that there are probably at least 20 more Society Members who have posted in the four-digit range. That much accepted or estimated, based on what I have seen, it seems that the number of Society Members who have posted between 0 and 10 messages, etc. (and there are quite a few who have not posted at all), is far greater than the number of Society Members who post on a fairly regular basis.

Before moving on to a related topic, I want to apologize for my incompetence and or presumed laziness with respect to not finding the matches for six of the listed individuals. It seems safe to assume that as contributors, these gentlemen are probably subscribers to Slingshot and therefore, are also registered members. I was just unable to figure out what moniker or pseudonym these ancient and medieval wargamers employed when walking around this or that sub-forum in their undoubtedly brilliantly white if also admittedly imaginary togas. 

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I had greater success in finding matches when I shifted my attention and focus to the first two pages of the electronic Members List of The Society of Ancients Forums. This catalog of members is presented alphabetically (by chosen Forum identity), and provides a good amount of information about the members. I opened up a new blank document and proceeded to copy and paste the details for the 60 members contained on those two pages. After that repetitive but interesting process, I created a spreadsheet wherein I entered the following for these 60 individuals: the member’s actual name (or pseudonym if a name was not provided); their position; the year registered; the year in which they were last active, and the number of posts made. An amateur analysis of this compiled information showed the following:

> The vast majority of this admittedly small slice of the List were Society Members. However, there was one Committee Member, and there was one Former Officer. 

> This selection of members produced a combined total of 9,464 posts, which were broken down into a handful of categories. 

0-10 posts / 45

11-150 posts / 8

151-500 posts / 4

501-1,000 posts / 0

over 1,001 posts / 3

> With regard to registration year, it was found that 27 signed up in 2012. In the following year, 8 more signed on. Four members registered in 2014, and three came aboard the year after that. 

> Taking a closer look at the year in which members were recorded as last being active, this small survey of the Members List revealed the following: 

2012 / 11

2013 / 6

2014 / 5

2015 / 2

2016 / 4

2017 / 4

2018 / 3

2019 / 4

2020 / 1

Stipulating to the fact that a survey of 60 members cannot tell us a whole lot about the larger body of a reported total of 805, I still found it curious that three-fourths of this slice of the membership pie limited themselves to 10 or fewer posts during their membership. Double-checking this subset, it was found that 37 members had not made a single post. That works out to nearly 62 percent. Nearly 20 percent of this select group of members were last active the year they registered or joined The Society. If my math is correct, in this limited population of members, two-thirds have not been active for five years or more. 

Returning, briefly, to the consideration of posts, expanding the slice or survey to 148 members informed that this group had produced 14,908 posts. Modifying the previous breakdown slightly, here are the levels of production for those 148 members:

0 posts / 86 

1-20 posts / 36

21-150 posts / 14

151-500 posts / 5

501-1,000 posts / 2

1,001-3,000 posts / 4

over 3,000 posts / 1

Granted, it is sloppy thinking to apply characteristics of the part or a part to the whole, but it is still very curious, interesting, as well as a little disheartening to find that 58 percent of members have not contributed at all to the wide-ranging discussions and myriad subjects available on the various forums. 

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Returning to my initial “deep dive” into the details of those 60 members, I stumbled across some duplicate entries which made me double-check as well as wonder about the accuracy of the total member count. For example, Alan Zanich registered as ‘alanzanich’ on February 19 of 2012. His stated interests were, “ancients wargaming and other periods.” The date Alan was last active is recorded as February 19 of 2012. On September 03 of 2016, Alan Zanich registered again. This time, no interests were listed, and his chosen moniker was ‘alanzanich2.’ Alan’s date of last activity was September 03 of 2106. On May 28 of 2012, an Alan Zanich registered as a Society Member. His stated interests were, “FPG, Armati.” As is the apparent pattern, this Alan was last active on May 28 of 2012. None of the three Alans, if in fact there are three, have made a single post. In sum, this experience makes me wonder if there might be other instances of duplicate entries within the Member List. 

On a related point, I happened across Patrick Waterson’s name during the course of my “research” for this . . . I’m still not quite sure what it is or might be. Anyway, this much respected former member of as well as irreplaceable loss to The Society is still found within the Members List. The late and great Patrick registered on January 10 of 2012, and was last active on January 10 of 2020. He produced 7,026 posts during the eight years of his tenure. I certainly won’t presume to speak for this gentleman, but from what I know of him, my guess is that he would find it odd and perhaps even a little humorous that his name was still on the Members List. 

Going back to the issue of duplicate membership entries, in the early stages of “researching” an overly ambitious, necessarily long-term, and now very-much-on-hold project, I investigated the details of one ‘andyb.’ This Society Member asked and answered his own question way back in early May of 2012, starting the long-running discussion thread if not creating the legacy now known as “What was the last game you played?” Andrew Badger (aka ‘andyb’) registered on February 27 of 2012, and listed “most periods but mainly ancients” as his interests. He was last active on May 02 of 2013, and made 28 posts. Curiously, I could not find any entry for ‘andyb’ within the pages of the Members List.

Coincidentally, another Andrew Badger was found while briefly looking through the Members List. This gentleman registered on August 18 of 2015, and was last active on December 24 of 2017. During this time period, Andy made 19 posts. His stated interests are fairly similar to the previous Andy, though more defined in this particular case. They are: “All ancients, Zulu War, 1914 Western Front, Crimean.” 

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Other Comments & Closing Remarks

At one point (or perhaps it was two) in the not so distant past, I was a subscribing member of TMP. The site is still bookmarked, and I will usually stop by to scan or skim every third or fourth day. Typically, I will check on the Ancients Boards, preferring Battle Reports over Discussion or other listed categories. When so inclined, I may visit other periods, but nothing more modern than the American Civil War. Anyway, I am sure that it has not escaped the notice of others - and perhaps I am overreacting to it - but what is the purpose of reposting old battle reports? To cite two recent examples of this. First, it was noted that on October 01, a link to a battle report originally posted on July 21 of 2024 was offered to TMP guests, visitors, and subscribers. On August 23 of 2025, a link to (coincidentally) Aaron Bell’s Sentinum refight with LOST BATTLES was shared. The original report was posted by ‘Prufrock’ to “Here’s no great matter” on June 03 of 2024. (Recalling that it was part of the “data mining” completed for my very amateur five-year project, I checked again. It turns out that Aaron Bell has wargamed this historical battle at least twice. The earliest treatment was shared on March 07 of 2016, Please see https://prufrockian-gleanings.blogspot.com/2016/03/sentinum-refight-background.html.) If the TMP membership profile of ‘Tango01’ is legitimate, then the good doctor from Buenos Aires certainly appears to spend a lot of time online, most of which has to be spent on TMP. Evidently, he has typed and submitted nearly 197,000 posts over the course of approximately 15 years. This works out to an average of 13,000 posts per year, or 1,100 posts per month. This production rate would require 36 posts per day.  

Shifting from that objective “extreme” to another, I have been wondering as well as worrying - probably more than I really should - about the health and welfare of James Roach. I do not recall exactly when I was introduced to or stumbled across his high-quality blog (again, see https://olicanalad.blogspot.com/), but I do know that the accomplished gentleman-wargamer has gone silent, has been silent for far too long. It is past the point where it is uncomfortable, and I confess that I am starting to think about worst-case scenarios. His last post was made on December 06 of 2024, when James shared news (with several photos) of the completion of “the Beja contingent for the Mahdists.” I suppose, in the grand scheme of things - or in the “great sea of wargaming blogs” - that the absence of activity on a single one should not deserve so much of my attention. Although I “follow” around 10 or so blogs (follow is in quotes because I am more often a passive observer than an engaged one, typing and submitting comments every other day, etc.), this number is also a “grain of sand” on the “miles-long beach” of wargaming blogs, if I may switch metaphors. Then again, I think it is the uncertainty of not knowing what is going on with James Roach that may bother and frustrate me most. Given my limited blog interaction, when one member of a figurative family of approximately 10 disappears, their absence cannot help but be noticed. 

On a related but less disconcerting note, as there have been reports of email exchanges in addition to some activity on the To The Strongest Forum, it was noticed that Simon Miller has not posted to his popular blog since later September of last year. If, for some reason or reasons these two wargaming giants had to stop posting or decided, unilaterally, to stop posting and walk away from the tabletop, well . . . I think this would leave pretty significant holes in the body of the hobby. Then again, applying the “next man up rule,” it seems that these vacancies would be filled, and rather quickly too, by the next capable blogger. 

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At this present juncture, my appetite for solo wargaming and its apparently associated integral blog posts remains weirdly absent, suppressed, or in some kind of hibernation. This intended or accidentally developed distraction of looking at data and trying to make some sense of it has been marginally successful, I think. This qualified assessment is due to the admittedly small fractions of material that were considered. Just a single year of  answers and other responses to “What was the last game you played?” were studied out of a pool of 13 years. Better progress was made when I looked at five years worth of posted battle reports. However, nearly two-thirds of these accounts and summaries were left undisturbed. As for my brief peak at membership of The Society of Ancients, well, I attempted “interviews” of approximately 0.075 percent of the reported total as of the second week of October, 2025. Ideally, and I acknowledge that I am repeating myself on this point, I should have liked to dig deeper. I should have liked to develop stronger cases or positions, rather than suggesting that this very small sample might mean this or maybe that. As long as I am finding fault with my methodology here, I should have liked to reformat the content of this post. The inclusion of some colorful piecharts or other graphs would have been nice as well as generated (probably) more traffic and made readers happier.

Perhaps this initial fumbling attempt will inspire someone else or even a small group to take a look at bigger mountains or larger jungles of data. Then again, it occurs to me that The Society, its membership, and ancient or dark ages or medieval wargaming will do just fine if these various deposits of information are never carefully and completely mined. After all, there are preparations (likely already underway) to be made for Battle Day 2026. There is also tomorrow night’s game with a friend, next week’s game at the club, or the (insert your own rules title here) tournament taking place next month at (insert your own location here). And let us not forget adding content to your blog, if you are one of those hundreds of wargamers who operates/nurtures this kind of platform. There might also be an article to draft and revise for submission to an editor of some publication such as Slingshot. For many, there are miniatures to paint and base, and terrain to plan and build. These “chores” might be done while listening to a wargaming podcast. Finally, at least for the purposes of this improvised list, there are myriad blogs and posts to consider.