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Lakes Area
De Bellis AntiquitatisDBA is a set of simple, fast-play rules that -- like chess -- take a short time to learn the basics. Mastering tactics in DBA, though, is a long, enjoyable journey. The game has a way of humbling you when you are feeling high and mighty, but also rewarding you when you deploy your troops properly and send the opponent's forces fleeing from the table in defeat.
In basic DBA, each army has 12 stands of troops. These stands are rectangular bases upon which you affix your painted miniatures. Depending on the troops represented (DBA has 16 different types), each stand usually has from two to four miniatures. So, to field an army in DBA, you typically need not much more than a few dozen painted miniatures, sometimes less. This makes it easy for newcomers to get started, and also allows you to own a whole range of armies without great expenditures of time or money.
It is also possible to play "Big Battle DBA" with these rules, typically with 36 elements per side. For some, this provides a more satisfying length battle. Whereas a 12-on-12 game will last perhaps an hour, a Big Battle DBA game takes a nice, two to three hours to finish. GLADBAG also runs "Double Size" BBDBA tournaments that use 24 elements per side, rather than 36. These games tend to take about an hour and a half to two hours.