Half-Pint armies at the Posties Whistle v
A mini-tournament report

- By Vinnie the Pooh

If discussion at the after-match drinks at the Posties Whistle was anything to go by, Pete Dunn's 200 point Ancient tournament at the Warlords on November 3 was a great success.

If you are unfamiliar with Ancients, 200 points is half the usual size of an army. Instead of using a 6' x 4' table, a 4' x 4' is used, the time limit is reduced from four hours to one-and-a-half and there is pre-set terrain. Speed wargaming!

Everyone who took part seemed to have a great time, and all the talk was of, "when we do it again, this is what I would do differently". Being able to play four games-a whole tournament-in a day is great, there is enough scope for tactics to make it a challenge, the games are fast and furious and it is fun. Sort of "one day" Ancients as opposed to 'tests".

The preset terrain was important for the speed of the games. Pete had set up the tables before the tournament and players moved around the tables. The terrain was:

• 
• England, wet
• Rome, civilised
• Steppe, mostly flat with some gentle hills
• Turkey, steep hills
• China, a river, a village, cultivation
• Cambodia, jungle
• The participants in all their glory

Phil Malthus vetted the lists via e-mail from England so that Pete could play, and no umpiring was needed with all questions resolved by peer review. And the results were: