I was just wondering, does anyone play Warhammer Ancients?

I've always been a big fan of history and ancient warfare so when I saw the Warhammer Ancients rulebook for the first time on the internet I was very interested in it. Then, when I was looking in a store (not my local one) I saw a couple of the supplement books such as Alexander the Great and the Punic Wars. All of the books look incredibly well done, the miniatures look very nice, and the game itself looks like it would be fun to play. On top of that, I think a lot of the miniatures people use are made by Foundry, who makes very high quality miniatures at a much more reasonable price than GW.

So, does anyone know if anybody actually plays this game? To those who have, and is it any fun at all? I'm very interested to hear more about it.

Hello PatCS, I play WAB on occasion, although more in a Dark Age Britain setting rather than the Ancient Mediterranean. I quite like the game although it has its limitations and that is where LotR SBG wins it for me. It is more of a unit based game rather than based on the individual soldier, although heroes can make a big difference to combats.

You are also correct in saying that many of the minis featured in the rules books are from Foundry, but also many are from Gripping Beast, Old Glory and a few other manufacturers. Many of the minis are well scuplted and a lot cheaper than GW, but don't always scale so well when compared with LotR figures, although there are always a few you can use for both systems - depends on how you base your minis for WAB. I base all my minis on round SBG bases for both systems which just means moving units is a bit of a pain and takes a while longer than if based on square bases and in movement trays. But, as games are generally limited to just a few turns anyway, movement issues don't happen to get in the way of a good game.

Give it a go and tell us what you think.

I play, mostly Dark Age again, but with homegrown rules (can't get my hands on a Shieldwall book :cry: but anyhoo, I personally like it more then LOTR, but that's because it's very similar to WH. I suggest you look around for miniatures, as there are simply hundreds of suppliers at reasonable value and quality. I suggest Renegade for the Punic setting. Also, try to get hold of Wargames Illustrated or summat similar. They have ads for great suppliers and brilliant ideas for scenarios. WAB is well established, so finding an opponent shouldn't be too difficult. Right, that said, I'm off to paint more Renegade Vikings (Oh, the backlog...)

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I have the rulebook, but have never played a game yet. Too busy with this and other games to collect enough metal for an Ancients army.

I'd probably look to starting a late Saxon (c. 1066) army if/when I ever claw my way out of Middle-earth.

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Dagster

Thanks guys.
Sounds like a good game and I may have to try it if I can ever clear up my LotR backlog. (So it may be a while.) I'd still have to get the rulebook and all the minis which, again, could take a while. But if I do, I'll definitely let you guys know how it goes.