Our experts' pick of the very best wargames from antiquity through to the medieval period
Outside World War II, no other period of armed conflict offers as much variety and depth as the ancient world, if for no other reason than its temporal length. Using the time-honoured Wargames Research Group miniatures rules convention, ‘ancients’ actually covers from about 3000 BC to 1485 AD, although this is because the WRG lumps ‘ancient’ and ‘medieval’ together into one grouping – hence our rather expansive title to this guide!
1485 signifies a commonly accepted time where gunpowder use became widespread and, as it happens, also marks the end of the War of the Roses. Such a vast continuum of war-fighting history, stretching as it does from khopesh-toting ancient Egyptian mercenaries to the knights and fluttering battle-pennants of feudal Europe, should surely provide more than enough army fodder to keep everyone entertained.