Tony Bath

Tony Bath (1926, Southampton [Slingshot Issue 34] -2000) was a British wargamer who favored the ancient period. His Hyboria campaign [ [http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/tony_bath.htm The Hyboria Campaign: Pictures] ] [ [http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/01.htm The Hyboria Campaign: Text] ] , based on the Conan the Barbarian stories of Robert E. Howard, is sometimes cited as the first fantasy wargame. It is even said to have included role playing elements. The Hyboria campaign did not contain magic or fantastic creatures, however.

After serving in World War II, Bath began collecting military figures. In 1955 he joined the British Model Soldier Society [ [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~beattie/timeline/2002%20stuff/bath.html "Tony Bath" by Bob Beattie] ] . About this time he began wargaming, introducing Don Featherstone to the hobby. Bath contributed articles to Jack Scruby's seminal newsletter, the "War Game Digest", and in 1960 he began editing the British edition of the newsletter with Featherstone. He also contributed articles to the "Wargamer's Newsletter" which Featherstone started in 1962.

When Bath began playing wargames set in the ancient period, the only miniatures available were German flats which were difficult to procure [ [http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/memoriam_tony.htm "Tony Bath-In Memoriam"] by Phil Barker] . As the period became more popular with hobbyists, Bath's rules were the ones most often used in ancient wargames. In 1966 Featherstone published Bath's rules for ancient, medieval, and 18th century warfare in three separate pamphlets, part of a set of rulebooks covering eight historical epochs [ [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~beattie/timeline2.html The Courier's Timeline of the Historical Miniatures Wargaming Hobby] ] .

Bath founded the Society of Ancients in 1965. In 1973 his "Setting up a Wargames Campaign" was published by the Wargames Research Group. He worked as a manager for Miniature Figurines, Ltd., helping them expand their selection of ancient and medieval miniatures.

The Tony Bath Rules

They have been described by Kevin Large as described as "not intended for agressive competitive play, but for a fast moving enjoyable game. [Kevin Large, The Tony Bath Rules, Jurassic Park for Wargamers. Slingshot 257 p42] The earliest version that survives is the version in Donald Featherstone's WarGames. [War Games, Donald Fetherstone p61] [Kevin Large, The Tony Bath Rules, Jurassic Park for Wargamers. Slingshot 257 p41]

They were written to be played with flats and when solid figures became dominant he was slow to adapt them as he had written them first of all for his personal use. Hence other rulesets became dominant. [ [http://www.rudi-geudens.be/html/memoriam_tony.htm "Tony Bath-In Memoriam"] by Phil Barker]

Footnotes