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What is DBMM?
Now Updated for DBMM Version 2!

De Bellis Magistrorum Militum (DBMM), or "For the Wars of the Master of Soldiers", is an historical miniatures wargame set in the "Ancients" period from 3000BC to 1515AD. 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 which lays out the proportions available for the historical prototype army. 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 "full-sized" game will take between three and four hours to complete. We often play a variation called DBMM 200 which is a smaller battle that takes about two hours to fight. There is also DBMM 100 variant which is played in an hour or less. Although the fundamentals of DBMM are easily grasped, the game is difficult to master and it rewards practice, tactical skill and good luck!

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

DBMM is written by Phil Barker, a mainstay of the 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 DBMM: DBA (fast-play ancients), DBM (the precursor to DBMM and a worldwide hit), 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 of 10-30,000 men a side.

To buy a copy of DBMM v2 in Ireland you will have to mail-order it. Currently the best source is Monarch Publications, UK (http://monarchmilitarybooks.com) - a direct link to DBMM in their catalog is here. The current version of DBMM is version 2.0 (£14.99 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) (£11.50 stg. each). You should ensure that you order the DBMM edition of the army list books rather than the old lists for the DBM rules (DBMM's precursor ruleset). Currently only Books 1, 2 and 3 have been revised for DBMM, for other armies we use the draft DBMM army list book 4. The army lists are available from the publishers, Caliver Books, website. Army lists book 4 will soon be available from Monarch Publications but for the moment the draft lists are available in the files area of the Yahoo DBMM mailing list. An important source of errata and clarifications for playing in competitions is the DBMM Commentary, available from dbmm.org.uk

Army costs for DBMM depend on the size of game played and the type/quality of troops used. This is because the games points system allows balanced games between very mismatched forces so armies full of elite troops tend to be smaller as each individual element (unit) costs more. For example a 15mm miniatures typically sell for £2.00 stg for 8 foot or 4 mounted. Approximate cost for a 200 point army is €50-€80, for a full-size (400pt) army it costs between €80 and €150. For an exhaustive listing of manufacturers see here or look in the DBMM 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 general purpose manufacturer. Other manufacturers of note tend to only have figures available in more specialised sub-periods, for example Xyston probably make the best miniatures for the Classical period (Greeks and Romans, but with more emphasis on the Greeks).

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 but unfortunately there are less of these places than in the past. 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: Hinds Figures (UK, good selection) and of course eBay (USA, very variable). Some of these places also have unpainted lead going cheap.