Wargames Research Group Ltd
Home Page
(www.wargamesresearchgroup.net)

Directors (in alphabetical order) Phil Barker, Chris Hanley, Sue Laflin-Barker and Nigel Spinks.
Secretary: Chris Hanley Chairman: Sue Laflin-Barker.
To contact any one of us, please email our Christian name followed by "@wrg.me.uk"

Our partner Steven Bowns died earlier this year and will be greatly missed. Despite this loss, our long term aim is still to produce as many as possible of the original WRG books as quickly as possible.

All our books may be ordered from Amazon or direct from LULU.

NEW EDITIONS




De Bellis Magistrorum Militum Version 2.1. by Phil Barker.
DBMM was a radical development of earlier rule sets which kept many structures and much of the basic data. The most major difference was simulating command and control more realistically and in particular emphasizing the C-in-C's plan. This inspired its title, "For or about the Wars of the Masters of Soldiers". It has been used in a large number of competitions around the world, as well as several of the large multi-player historical refights organised annually by the Society of Ancients and the earlier versions have been translated into several other languages. VERSION 2.1 is now available and contains updated rules, extensive diagrams and a few sample army lists.

PAPERBACK. Size: US Letter 20.95cm x 27.30cm. 88 pages ISBN 978-0-244-77280-2.


DBMM Army Lists
These are revised editions, produced by Phil Barker, for use with the De Bellis Magistrorum Militum wargame rules.

BOOK ONE 3000 BC to 500 BC "The Chariot Period". Now reprinted on LULU and re-formatted to US Letter size. paperback. 122 pages.
BOOK TWO 500 BC to 476 AD "The Classical Period" Now reprinted on LULU and re-formatted to US Letter size. paperback. 122 pages.
BOOK THREE 476 AD to 1071 AD "The Early Medieval Period" Now reprinted on LULU and re-formatted to US Letter size. paperback. 122 pages.
BOOK FOUR 1071 AD to 1525 AD The High Medieval Period. Now reprinted on LULU and re-formatted to US Letter size. paperback. 122 pages.

De Bellis Antiquitatis Version 3.0 published September 2014.
by Phil Barker & Sue Laflin-Barker
DBA is a set of quick-play rules with army lists for ancient and medieval wargames. DBA Version 3.0 is the latest version of the rules for recreating ancient and medieval battle with miniature figures. Further testing with the help of a large group of players all over the world has resulted in a set of rules which approximates more closely to what is known about ancient warfare than any of the earlier versions while still retaining the ability to provide and fast and enjoyable game. This edition contains the new DBA 3.0 rules, a set of diagrams to explain aspects of the rules and over 300 army lists covering the whole period and the whole world with description and further reading for each army.

PAPERBACK. Size: US Letter 20.95cm x 27.30cm. 146 pages ISBN 978-0-244-69768-6


Hordes Of The Things Version 2.1
by Phil Barker, Sue Laflin-Barker & Richard B. Scott
Simple Fast-play Fantasy Wargame and Campaign Rules with Army Lists. A hardback edition re-formatted to a smaller size and with larger, more legible text. These rules for heroic fantasy wargames stem from our alternative ancient and medieval rules titled "De Bellis Antiquitatis". We see no reason why fantasy warfare should not be as well researched as any other, the difference being that the sources are classical mythology, traditional folk tales and epics and the works of modern fantasy fiction and cinema. Army lists referring to specific works of fiction are included by the express permission of the authors when living.
HOTT strikes the balance between humans and mythical creatures and between conventional generalship and magic withour letting unwanted complexity slow things down. The result is a fast, fun and challenging game which captures all the variety and adventure of fantasy battles.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 122 pages ISBN 978-0-244-82013-8

REPRINTS OF OLD EDITIONS

The Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome by Phil Barker published 1981.
This book has been a source of inspiration to wargamers and academic historians alike. It is reprinted here in its complete 1981 fourth edition with an updated bibliography.
The book spans the period from 150 BC to 600 AD and describes the forces of the later Roman Republic and the Byzantine wars as well as the armies of the heyday of the Roman Empire. Coverage of Rome’s enemies includes Gallic, British, Pictish, Scots/Irish, German, Dacian, Sarmatian, Frankish, Saxon, Vandal, Visigothic, Ostrogothic, Hunnic, Pontic, Parthian, Armenian, Jewish, Palmyran, Sassanid and Blemye armies.
It examines tactics and strategy, organisation and formations and orders of battle as well as providing a detailed guide to the dress and equipment of the armies of the period. Comprehensive illustrations by Ian Heath complement Phil Barker’s text and the result is a wealth of information for anyone interested in the warfare of the time.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 232 pages ISBN 978-1-326-22482-0.


De Bellis Renationis published 1981.
Rules by Phil Barker & Richard B. Scott : Army Lists by Phil Barker
"De Bellis Renationis" is a set of wargames rules for Renaissance battles covering the period from 1494 AD to 1700 AD. DBR version 2.0 offers a combination of realism and excitement for this warfare using miniature figures in any scale from 2mm to 30mm. The DBR rules can be used to refight historical engagements or your own scenarios from small scale skirmishes to the largest battles of the period. With its command system using "player initiative points", DBR emphasizes the player’s generalship rather than their ability to manipulate a set of rules. It allows players to fight actions from the whole period and across the whole world, from Japan to Europe and the Americas and from the Italian Wars to the Nine Years' War.
This edition combines the 2002 edition of the rules with all three of the books of Army Lists and includes everything the wargamer needs to refight these battles in one single convenient volume.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 300 pages ISBN 978-0-244-77355-7

Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars by Duncan Head. published 1983.
This book is an important member of the WRG Ltd “Armies and Enemies” series. First published in 1983, we are delighted to make it available once more.
It includes details of Persian, Greek, Boiotian, Spartan, Athenian, Phokian, Aitolian, Achaian, Tarantine, Syracusan, Macedonian, Thessalian, Successor, Antigonid, Epeirot, Ptolemaic, Kyrenean, Seleucid, Pergamene, Bactrian and Indian Greek, Maccabean, Thracian, Bithynian, Illyrian, Scythian, Bosporan, Sarmatian, Saka, Parthian, Indian, Carthaginian, Numidian, Spanish, Celtic, Galatian, Roman, Latin, Samnite, Campanian, Lucanian, Bruttian, Apulian and Etruscan armies.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm ISBN 978-1-326-56051-5
Armies of the Dark Ages by Ian Heath. published 1980.
This book has been a source of inspiration to wargamers and academic historians alike. It is reprinted here in its complete 1980 second edition with an updated bibliography. The book spans the period from 600 AD to 1066 and describes Byzantine, Sub-Roman, Pictish, Irish, Visigothic, Lombard, Merovingian, Carolingian, Ottonian, Viking, Russian, Slav, Avar, Khazar, Magyar, Bulgar, Pecheneg, Ghuzz, Alan, Armenian, Sassanid, Arab, Andalusian, Near Eastern, Saxon, Norman, Italian and Spanish armies. It examines tactics and strategy, organisation and formations as well as providing a detailed guide to the dress and equipment of the armies of the period. Comprehensive illustrations complement the text and the result is a wealth of information for anyone interested in the warfare of the time.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 220 pages ISBN 978-1-326-23332-7

Armies of Feudal Europe by Ian Heath. Second edition published 1989.
This book has been a source of inspiration to wargamers and academic historians alike. It is reprinted here in its complete 1989 second edition with an updated bibliography.
It includes details of armies from Andalusia, Bulgaria, England, Estonia, France, the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Morocco, the Ordensstaat of the Teutonic Knights, the Earldom of Orkney, the Papal State, Poland, Prussia, Lithuania, the Low Countries, Kievan Russia, Scandinavia, Scotland, Serbia, Sicily, Spain, Venice, Wales and Wendland.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 280 pages ISBN 978-1-326-68621-5


Armies and Enemies of the Crusades by Ian Heath. Second edition 2019.
This book has now been reprinted here as a completely revised second edition.
It includes details of armies of the Franks, Hospitallers, Templars, Armenians, Syrians, Seljuks, Fatamids, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Assassins, Byzantines, Georgians, Mongols and Ilkhanids.

HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 194 pages ISBN: 978-0-244-47488-1


Armies of the Greek and Persian Wars by Richard Nelson. published 1975.
This was one of the first titles in the WRG series of army books. The original text and illustrations by Richard Nelson are reprinted here in the 1975 edition.
This book covers the period from 500 BC to 350 BC and describes the wars between the Persian empire and the Greek city states. It is organised into three separate sections.
The first describes Greek and Persian troop types, and the typical army compositions, and then deals with the Great Persian Wars in some detail.
The second section describes Greek troop developments after this conflict, and the Peloponnesian War within Greece.
The third section details the developments in the Persian Army following the time of Xerxes, and the various campaigns of the 4th Century B.C. as the Greeks took the offensive against Persia.
In all three sections typical campaigns have been described in some detail. It has been thought better to cover such items as typical army size, composition, tactics and strategy in this way, particularly as they were under constant development, rather than to have sections giving general guidelines which might be open to misinterpretation.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 96 pages ISBN 978-1-326-25649-4

Warfleets of Antiquity by Richard Nelson.
This book, written in 1973, is for readers interested in the naval history of the ancient peoples of the Mediterranean. The period covered starts with Greek and Phoenician vessels of 800-700 BC and includes ships up to 800 AD. The aim of the book is to fill a gap by concentrating on the practical aspects of naval warfare in antiquity, and the battles selected for description are intended to show the development of tactics and strategy, rather than illustrate the general history of the period.
It includes descriptions of the ships, crews, tactics and campaigns of Greek, Persian, Carthaginian, Hellenic, Roman, Celtic, Germanic, Scandinavian and Byzantine fleets.
In addition, Richard Nelson's naval wargames rules for large scale fleet actions in teh period from 1000 BC to 500 AD are included as an appendix.
HARDBACK. Size: 15.24cm x 22.86cm 136 pages ISBN 978-1-326-78664-9

To view the History of WRG please use this link.

Page maintained by Susan Laflin-Barker, last updated June 2023