ANCIENT LAND WARFARE:
MEDIEVAL LAND WARFARE:
Tactica

That said, let me suggest something to a beginner: It will take time to build, paint, base, etc. your army, so don't pick an army that fights just one other army. My suggestion is to build the Caesarian Romans, so you will have various options for them to fight. The barbarian armies are huge, but once you've built a single one, you basically have the others as well. Another good choice is the Republican Romans, who can give battle to the Carthaginians or Macedonians. These two armies are very different, and the Republican Roman has to fight the Carthaginians much differently than the tactics used to fight the Macedonians.

And, don't expect to recreate Cannae! Tactica is very strict and unforgiving. This means you must pay attention at the start of the game, or face the consequences of a much better-placed opponent. This game simply seems to best reflect the feel and brutal simplicity of an ancient deathmatch. Good luck and enjoy.

That said, Tactica is not for everyone. First, the armies required are quite large - perhaps impractical for someone who doesn't have the benefit of a club or organization. Second, the gameplay is radically different from the tinkering micro-management of a DBM or WRG 7th. After a certain point in a Tactica game, there is a sense of inevitability as to the outcome: Your battleline is deployed, your reserve committed, your cavalry engaged - hope you win. This makes Tactica very realistic, but not everyone's cup of tea.

The system is simple but well thought out. It is very subtle and requires a great deal of timing and skill. There are lots of dice to roll which I like, but the system requires no saving throws or the likes so each throw means business. The movement system is restrictive but realistic. Some variation is allowed for different armies where historically justified.

Only historical match ups are encouraged which is a plus for me. The opposing forces are well balanced. There is scope for scenario games, especially in Medieval Tactica where good examples are given. Medieval Tactica also has fully comprehensive siege rules which can be used for large scale skirmishes.

These rules have an attraction of their own and are especially suitable for multi-player games. My brother and I along with friends often enjoy a game of Tactica. We play Medieval as well as Ancient. We have experience with most of the major Ancient and Medieval rules, but Tactica has given us some of our best gaming evenings over the past year and a half.

Its one drawback for me is that it isn't very suitable for solo gaming but I don't think that it was ever meant to be. To appreciate Tactica you need someone to play against. To play the rules as they stand requires large armies for the Ancient rules, though provision is made to use less figures whilst building up an army. (See supplement one.) In Medieval Tactica the armies are much smaller.

The presentation is superb and has set the trend for rulesets since. Personally I like Medieval Tactica's cover the best. Both of the rule books and the supplement have beautiful colored pictures that give the rules a certain ambiance.

My advice is to give Tactica a go - to me, it was like a breath of fresh air. I wish I'd bought it when it first arrived on the scene.