Tony Bath
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tony Bath (1926-2000) was a British wargamer who favored the ancient period. His Hyboria campaign[1][2], 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[3]. 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[4]. 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[5].
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.
