Big Birthday Bash

What better way to celebrate my first half-century than this:

Macedonians on the left (using my Seleucids) and Romans on the right as you look at it.  My birthday is today - the Ides of March, funnily enough - and we'll play this tomorrow.  In the meantime I wanted to take some photos of the setup.

The Macedonian right, from a Latin's viewpoint: a dozen light cavalry, 18 Companions and 12 Peltasts, with a dozen skirmish archers out front.  In the centre of the photo you can see 36 mercenary Galatian foot, who provide the link with the phalanx.

The Macedonian centre: ten units each of 48 figures, deployed six ranks deep; there are a few hoplites filling out the rear ranks.  36 Javelinmen out front.

Their left: another 36 Galatians; 12 Peltasts; 18 heavy cavalry; 12 light cavalry; and 12 slingers.

The right wing of the consular army facing them: 12 light cavalry extraordinarii, two units of 12 heavy Equites, and a dozen Cretan archers to screen them.

Two Roman legions, in proper triplex acies formation.  Each has a dozen Velites, two units of 24 Hastati, two units of 24 Principes, and two units of 12 Triarii.

Two more of the same, Latins this time.

Finally, a mirror-image of the Roman cavalry wing, except that here the skirmishers are slingers.

Terrain is like Cynoscephalae, except with two large low hills and nowt else.  I chose and set up the armies, going for symmetrical deployments to give a good old-fashioned infantry grudge match.  This will count towards the campaign, but in order to make a large game out of it I doubled the army sizes.  This will keep them in proportion so that I can work out what happens afterwards.  There are enough commands for up to six players per side, although that many people might be a tight squeeze.  Lubrication of the beery kind should help.

I wanted to put on a large game for my long-standing gaming friends and ancients players, and this seemed like a good excuse.  I have found by experience that a very large game needs to be set up in advance; that way everyone can just muck in.  Sharp-eyed observers may be able to see the various casualty markers dotted around the battlefield behind their respective units; I want to use my handmade casualty dials to keep the game as clutter-free as possible.

To be honest, I don't care who wins!