a cost in playability. The De Bellis Societatis Antiquorum ruleset was designed as a "tonic for the jaded" with the goal of providing a fun, fast and challenging game and as an alternative to the WRG series of ancients rules. The first commercial edition of DBA was published in 1990, with Phil and Sue Barker and Richard Bodley Scott as its authors. The game has continued to evolve over the years; the most recent version was published in November, 2014 with just Phil Barker and Sue Laflin Barker as authors. DBA 1.0, 1990 DBA 1.1, March 1995 DBA 1.2, 1998 (Issued as a set of amendments) DBA 1.22, 1999 (Issued as a set of amendments) DBA 2.0, February 2001 DBA 2.1, 2003 (Issued as a set of amendments) DBA 2.2, January 2004 There have been many variants of the game, one is DBA 2.2+, 2012 (Issued by WADBAG, unofficial) DBA 3.0, November 2014 Online version An online version known as DBAOL (DBA On-Line) was published by Wargaming.net in 2000, based upon DBA v1.2 and upgraded to 1.22. However the online version of the game was not upgraded to match newer versions of DBA, and the website announced that it is closing down from 1 December 2019. Versions of DBA are available on Vassal and Tabletop simulator. Gameplay Players use a single six-sided die each, and games are played on a square field, which conventionally (though not necessarily) has sides that are roughly sixteen times the base width being used. Though the exact details differ in different editions of the game, in the current version players roll dice to determine who will be the invader and who will be the defender. The defender uses a random process to place terrain according to his army's home territory, and the invader chooses which side his army will enter the board. The players then alternate in placing their camp model and armies, and the defender takes the first bound. Players then alternate bounds. At the start of each bound, the active player dices for "PIPs". PIPs are the spots on a die. The number of PIPs rolled represents the player's level of control for the turn. Players spend their PIPs to move single elements or connected groups of elements on the game board. PIPs do not carry over from turn to turn. PIPs simulate (though not model) the difficulties of command and control during