March 21, 2008
Field of Glory is a beautifully designed and presented product, with very few typographical errors. This is by far the most professionally-produced miniatures rule set I have ever seen. The table of contents is clearly organized and color coded by section. The text is fairly lengthy and complex, but also very consistent, clearly written and well organized, with numerous colorful diagrams, photographs, and illustrations to provide examples of play, clarify areas of potential confusion, and add period color. Flexible game scales allow players to represent a wide array of ancient battles, while army compositions are designed to represent forces varying in size from 5000 to 80,000 men, using a ‘top-down’ system emphasizing common organizational structures. While few of the rules mechanics come across as startlingly new, all of them are combined and sequenced in ways that show considerably more subtlety and originality than might appear at first glance. The index and glossary of terms are also very welcome features. New players may have some difficulty absorbing the rules at first due to their length and detail. I would recommend that newcomers read the book one section at a time, rather than attempt to digest the entire text at once.
Creating tabletop armies for Field of Glory, using either historical sources or the points system together with the companion army lists, is a relatively simple process. I play only historically-based scenarios, so I have not used the optional terrain and army deployment system, although it seems to be clear and well designed. The rules mechanisms for movement, combat, and cohesion work together in very subtle ways, with almost none of the gamey “mini-maxing” or geometry issues that figure that dominate the tactics for some other competition-based ancient-period rule sets. The rules for commanders give them a clear set of battlefield roles, and utilizing commanders to bolster troops, thereby minimizing attrition points, is crucial to success on the battlefield. Other key factors include using terrain features to advantage, avoiding having to take complex move tests, deploying and maneuvering troops to create and exploit weaknesses in the enemy battle line, using light troops to prevent broken enemy battle groups from rallying, and protecting the army’s supply camp. All-in-all, the rules mechanisms work together to create a very good “feel” for managing a variety of ancient troop types and armies on the battlefield.
On the other hand, Field of Glory is by no means a simplistic rules system. Newcomers may be daunted at first by the relatively large numbers of figures needed for play, as well as the length and apparent complexity of the rules. This may also cause their first few games to last somewhat longer than the average 3 hours stated in the rule book. I would recommend using relatively small armies and simple set-ups to begin with, expanding gradually as players gain experience and confidence with the rules mechanisms. After 3-5 complete games, players should feel much more comfortable with the rules, and playing times should decrease accordingly.