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Last updated: 10th August 2003
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DBM is one of the most popular games at the Dublin Games Guild. There is a very active group of DBM players and our members participate in numerous competitions during the year, some of which are organised by DGG.

What is DBM?

De Bellis Multitudinis, or DBM, is an historical miniatures wargame set in the "Ancients" period from 3000BC to 1500AD. In each game there are two players, each controlling one army in battle. Each player fields a specific set of troops based on the order of battle they have drawn up from the possibilies outlined in their army list. There are four books of army lists, containing over 300 lists, so you can clearly see there is a lot of variation in games. Game time can vary a lot, but an average game will take between three and four hours to complete. At DGG we often play a variation called DBM 200 which is a smaller battle that takes about two hours to fight. Although the fundamentals of DBM are easily grasped, the game is difficult to master and it rewards practice, tactical skill and good luck!

To see what DBM looks like in play have a look at the Irish Wargaming competition reports page. The reports of previous competitions have plenty of photographs of DBM being played and you can easily spot some of our members amongst the competitors.

DBM is published by Wargames Research Group (WRG) who have developed the most popular rules for Ancients since the early 70's. WRG also publishes a number of other rulesets related to DBM: DBA (fast-play ancients), DBR (renaissance), Hordes of the Things (fast-play fantasy) and DBF (fantasy). Collectively these rules are known as the DBx family. All of these rulesets use similar mechanics which are based on six-sided dice, no record keeping and quick-flowing game play that models a large battle (10-30,000 men a side).

To buy a copy of DBM in Ireland you will have to mail-order it. Two good online places are Leisure Games (London) or Essex Miniatures (Essex!). The current version of DBM is version 3.0 (£5 stg.). To play you will also need at least one of the four army list books. These are arranged chronologically; Book 1 (Biblical), Book 2 (Classical), Book 3 (Dark Ages/Early Medieval), Book 4 (Medieval). You should ensure that you order the 2nd edition of the army list books (£6 stg. each).

Army costs for DBM depend on the size of game played and type/quality of troops used. 15mm miniatures typically sell for £1.50 stg for 8 foot or 4 mounted. Approximate cost for a 200 point army is £30-£40, for a full-size (400pt) army it costs between £60 and £100. For an exhaustive listing of manufacturers see here or look in the DBM Resources section further down this page. In general I would recommend playing a few games and talking to an experienced player before deciding on an army (there are about 300 different army lists). If you want to charge straight in, I'd recommend Essex Miniatures as a good manufacturer (and don't buy a classical/roman army :-).

Second hand armies can be (relatively) cheaply (£100-£400) bought at major conventions in the UK. Online there are a couple of places you can pick up armies. Of course most of these are buyer beware and you do see occasional messages about armies never turning up. However most people are honest. In general armies bought from the USA will be more expensive (and have higher postage) so you are better off concentrating on UK offerings. With those warnings in mind, check out: Wargames Forum (in the Bring & Buy section, UK), TradeStands (UK, relatively new), Hinds Figures (UK, good selection), Bartertown (not much historical & mainly USA), Gajo Enterprises (USA, not cheap!), Deus Vult (not much stock, UK) and of course eBay (USA, almost never cheap). Some of these places also have unpainted lead going cheap.

DBM is well established at DGG and you will find a few games being played each and every meeting. We have a regular block booking of three tables so it is possible to just turn up and get an opponent and table without any prior arrangement. However, often all three of our regular tables are full and all the remaining tables are booked, so to be sure of getting a game it pays to set up an opponent and stake out a table the week beforehand. To make this easier there is now an online booking system for DBM games on our web page here. To make sure this system is not abused it needs a password to access it, regular players can get a password if they email dbm@iworg.com explaining who they are and what they need.

DBM 200 games are popular at DGG since they are shorter (and therefore guarantee time for a quick drink in the bar) and also because some of our newer players do not yet have full armies painted. If you are familiar with DBM and are wondering what on earth DBM 200 is then read up on the rules here.

The club provides a basic set of terrain so it is generally not necessary for players to bring along any terrain.

We are always seeking new players at our meetings. If you are interested in trying out DBM you can email dbm@iworg.com or simply turn up and talk to someone. Introduce yourself and one of our players will be happy to talk you through what is happening in their game. You can also arrange for one of our more experienced players to bring along a spare army and play you in a training game.

We have a wide variety of skill levels in our regular players. Two of our members, Alex Moran and Tony Walsh, represented Ireland at the International Team Challenge at Grandson this year. We also have a number of beginners and every type of player in between.

We run a number of competitions each year. These are hosted by DGG, but are open to anyone who wishes to enter and are recognised by RINIWA as official DBM competitions. The two regular events are Strongbow's Shield in August and the DGG Pairs in November of each year. Our players are active participants in the Irish competition circuit no matter where they are held though. If you want details of upcoming competitions look for DBM on the Irish Wargaming Event Calendar. You can also read reports of previous events at the IWorg Competition Reports page.

What's RINIWA you ask? It is the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Wargames Association, which is an umbrella organisation for competitive wargaming in Ireland. If you want more information on this have a look at their web page here.

Our members are free to organise any events they feel like at the DGG so long as they are willing to put the work in themselves. There was previously a Double Elimination tournament and a Middle Earth campaign game was planned but had to be cancelled when the organiser left the country.

There is a treasure trove of DBM material on the web. The selection of links below is only a small sampling to get you started.

Irish DBM and other wargaming resources

• The Irish Wargaming Homepage
  The Irish Wargaming directory, events calendar, news and a number of hosted sites (including us!).
• RINIWA - The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Wargames Association
  This association acts as a representative body for wargaming in Ireland.
• The RINIWA DBM ratings page
  Glicko ratings for all RINIWA sanctioned DBM competitions in Ireland. Use this to find out how you stand compared to the other DBM players in Ireland.
• Irish Wargames mailing list
  This mailing list is very low volume and is essential for keeping up with DBM and other wargaming events in Ireland. If you are at all interested in hearing about upcoming wargaming events in Ireland it is strongly recommended that you join this list.
• The Celtic Championship
  This is a great DBM competition which changes venue from year to year. The inaugural 2003 event was hosted in Dublin and was very successul. The 2004 event in Scotland should be even better!

• Leisure Games
  DBM rules and historical reference books along with a very wide range of other wargames, boardgames and RPGs. Very fast delivery times on in-stock items.
  
  
• Essex Miniatures
  Freikorps
  Museum Miniatures
  Chariot Miniatures and Falcon Figures
  Irregular Miniatures
  These are some of the most popular miniature manufacturers and retailers. Each one has a very wide range of miniatures, rule books and other wargame supplies.
  If you want to find more suppliers you can pick from the huge list of links on Fanaticus' site here.
  
  
• Wargames Forum
  TradeStands
  Hinds Figures
  Bartertown
  Gajo Enterprises
  Deus Vult
  eBay
  These sites specialise in second hand painted armies but they (especially ebay) may also have cheap unpainted figures. Some of these are sales by companies but some are classified ads. Bear in mind the labour that goes in to a nice paint job and remember that buying painted figures is not cheap.
  
  
• Robert Horne Ireland. Telephone (01) 450 8900.
  Magnetic basing material is best bought in bulk from suppliers of magnetic material for display signs. In Ireland, you can order it (by the metre!) from the above company. Ask for "Gloss white faced magnetic PVC, 2800gsm". This can then be cut up and super-glued onto bases. It should cost approximately €15-€25 per metre. A metre will do 2-3 DBM armies. Unlike the typical magnetic material supplied by hobby shops this stuff is off a roll just under a metre wide. When you buy a metre you are essentially buying a square metre, and not the 20mm wide strips you see in hobby stores.
  
  
• Woodies, Homebase, B&Q, your local hardware store etc
  You should be able to find one of these easily enough. If you need to buy sand, glue, 2mm MDF or most of the other things you need to make your terrain and bases look good these shops have a wide range of useful bits and pieces and generally far, far cheaper than the identical stuff in a hobby shop.
  
  
• Marks Models, 14, Hawkins Street, Dublin 2, (01) 6715809
  The Model Shop, 13 Capel Street, Dublin 1, (01) 8728134
  Of course the hobby shops carry very handy items that the hardware shops don't. Like 14 different kinds of grit, two inch tall oak trees and tiny tables and chairs. The two shops above are just the most useful sources in my opinion. To find more check the golden pages under Hobby - Supply Shops. You can also look in the Irish Wargaming Directory which has an extensive list of Irish game and hobby shops as well as listings of other game clubs and organisations.

• The Official DBM Home Page
  Maintained by one of the authors, Richard Bodley-Scott. Contains official errata and clarifications and a good "Beginners Guide to DBM".
• The RINIWA DBM Ratings Page
  This site holds DBM Glicko ratings data for Irish Players, information on upcoming Irish DBM competitions, general information useful for Irish DBM players such as DBM200 rules and Army List notes.
• DBM 200 rules
  Modified DBM 200 rules as used at DGG and most 200 point Irish competitions.
• Guidelines for DBM List Checkers
  Rob Brennan's compilation of list clarifications from various sources.
• Nunawading Wargames Association DBx Page
  This page is a must for both new and experienced DBM players, the section "Battle Drills and Tactics for DBM" is a goldmine of information on moving troops (including scale diagrams). They have well illustrated articles on the best way to go about many of the most awkward maneuvers in DBM. Everyone should read this.
• The DBA Resource Page
  This is a fantastic page which is updated every 2-3 days and although it is focused on DBA has lots of DBM stuff. See the Links/Gamers section for loads of DBM sites. The Bazaar section has a huge list of miniature manufacturers with links to their pages and reviews of figures.
• The Society of Ancients
  This is the homepage of the SOA who publish Slingshot, a great bi-monthly magazine which contains articles on military history, DBM and other ancient wargame rules (join now!). Their web page is free to all and includes a large links section and scans of many historical miniatures.
• The Wargaming Pages by Alan Patrick
  This page gives good guides to choosing, painting, organising and playing DBM armies. Also the father of 200pt DBM. The original 200pt rules are on this site.
• The DBM mailing list
  This is a very high volume mailing list! It concentrates on DBM but some DBR and a tiny bit of DBA are covered. It is a good place to ask for rules clarifications, although you might get a bunch of different answers. If you don't wish to receives 100s of emails a week you can sign up as a web subscriber which means you get no email but can read the enormous archive of posts on the web site. If you want to find opinions on obscure rules or armies chances are someone has already asked this and the answers are in the dbm list archive.
• The British Historical Games Society
  Has IWF (International Wargames Federation) DBM clarifications, also alternate (0-32) scoring system for large competitions, listings of major DBM competitions in UK, UK rankings etc.

• DBM v3 Quick Reference Sheet (zipped MS Word doc)
  This double-sided A4 sheet contains the PIP costs, movement rates, combat factors, combat results table etc. You may have to play with your page setup margins to get it to print correctly. Very Useful. Created by Humberside Wargames Society.
• DBM v3 Weather Table (zipped MS Word doc)
  Simplifies all the dense prose in the rules to determine weather for a battle. This single-sided sheet is formatted so that when printed you can cut out the table and glue/tape it to the inside cover of your rules. Created by Mr Greenwood (Nunawading Wargames Association?).
• Metric DBM March Templates (PDF file)
  If you print this page out you can use it to create up to 3 march exclusion zone templates for DBM on one A4 sheet. It is best you mount the printout on either light wood or plasticard for durability. Note this is a metric version, it is too small for games played with imperial measurements. Created by Rob Brennan. Inspired by the march template created by Jeff Zorn. Look at his site to find an imperial version of the template.
• DBM Expansion Chart (PDF file)
  This sheet shows all the allowed element moves when expanding from column in DBM. It also includes the measurement moved in mm. Note there one or two cases where the small amount of extra movement allowed under the imperial (inches etc) system will allow extra expansions. Created by Rob Brennan. This is based on the expansion chart produced by the Nunawading Wargames Association. Although less pretty, my one fits on an A4 page and is approx 1/3rd the file size to download (I did have to leave out LH(F) expansion though).
• Metric DBM Measure Stick (PDF file)
  When printed this file produces 6 DBM metric measuring sticks on one A4 page. Each stick is 40mm wide (good for checking gaps or pin distance/zone of control) and also includes the move distances of all troop types (good for learners or the forgetful). I mounted mine on 2mm MDF with white wood glue and they seem to be holding up well. Created by Rob Brennan.
• WEST - A Wargamers Easy Swiss Chess Tool
  Swiss Chess is the system used to work out pairings in most DBM competitions. WEST is a computer program to perform the necessary calculations. This page also includes information on the Swiss Chess system and a link to the 1992 FIDE Swiss Chess rules.

We welcome your email at dgg@iworg.com.
Last updated: 10th August 2003
Return to the DGG main page