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Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Triumph: Rules for Tabletop Battles Ancient and Medieval

Local wargamer Roundie has been generating some interest in the Washington Grand Company's DBA um, 'tribute', rules set, Triumph. I haven't been able to attend any of the game days/nights myself yet due to a busy social schedule (i.e., work), but I hope to get along at some point. In preparation, I made a visit to Wargame Vault and picked up a PDF copy. 

The DBA derivation is obvious, but while I do not know DBA well enough to be classed as anything more than a raw amateur, I do feel that there are enough changes in Triumph to take it from being merely DBA 4.0 into a game its own. 

For one thing, the troop type categories are more nuanced, and for another the introduction of a points system and battle cards allows armies of different sized forces to fight, and neatly introduces some strategems and augmented troop abilities. 

The terrain generation system and board sizes also bring something new to the table (quite literally), and even though it still uses the devil's own battle method (yes, that's you, opposed die rolls), I am determined to at least give the rules a chance. I haven't played wargames competitively since the old Commands & Colors: Ancients online VASSAL tournaments, and would like to see if I could get up to speed with these.

At any rate, it will be a good excuse to get off my backside, join in with some of the local gaming events, and perhaps even paint up a few more figures. We shall see!