Prizes for DBA at Britcon are kindly being provided by our show sponsors, Forged in Battle
Britcon - DBA
At Britcon this year (2026) DBA will once again be a flexible two day event, making use of both Saturday and Sunday. The tournament will be divided into a five themed sections which will be mini-tournaments in their own right, but which will also contribute to one player being awarded the Graham Fordham Memorial Trophy:
Book your place now via the Britcon Booking page
The framework for the weekend will be as follows:
1. The two days of gaming will run from Saturday morning through to Sunday afternoon. Players can opt to play on both or either of these two days, which gives people flexibility to just game on the one day which works for them, or aim for both days, if they really wanted to go 'all-in' and get the full Britcon experience! A variety of options for people to stay overnight on the Saturday is available, so that we will hopefully have a repeat of the social get-together after the Saturday's gaming, adding to the weekend's fun. Accommodation may be offered at the University, but the organisers have managed to secure some deals with local hotels anyway, as last year - check out the page here: www.bhgs.org.uk/britcon---venue--directions.html
2. On Saturday there would be three 'mini' tournaments of three rounds of games in each, with Sunday having two 'mini' tournaments of three rounds of games in each. Timings will be approximately 9:30am-12:30pm, 1-4pm & 4:30-7:30pm on Saturday and 9:30am-12:30pm and 1-4pm on Sunday, with each game lasting around 50 minutes. This will give additional flexibility for people to play as many of the 'mini' tournaments in each day, so for instance, if they didn't want to commit to and max out on 9 games in the day, it may be that a gamer on the Saturday plays the first two tournaments, if they wanted to be away by 5pm, or travel on Saturday morning and play the second and third tournaments, or they could play the first and third and have a break in the middle to have a breather, browse the show and have a leisurely lunch and a chat. Lots of choice there to cater for different persuasions...
3. This format allows us to put on a range of themes across the weekend and increase the diversity of the competition. With a mini-tournament theme, if it's not going well, then never mind, as another one is just around the corner! This will also give the advantage of bringing a range of armies to play with and hopefully add to the variety of the weekend's competition. Themes have been planned so that it is possible for an army to play in more than one over the weekend, should the owner prefer, and 'loaner' armies will be available, for those with limited armies of their own or for people not wanting to transport too many over the weekend.
4. The mini-tournaments will have the following themes in 2026:
Saturday 8th August
1) Armies & Enemies of Mother Russia (860AD-1533AD) (see the next post below for permissible armies and allies, no dismounting)
2) Backwoods Brawl - Any Forest or Tropical army (Allies permissible, but must also be Forest or Tropical, no dismounting)
3) Darken the Skies - Any army with a minimum of 5x Shooting elements (Bw/Cb/Lb/Art/WWgh) (Allies permissible and can count to the minimum shooting allowance, but no dismounting allowed)
Sunday 9th August
1) Mounted Mayhem - Minimum 9 Mounted elements (Allies permissible and can count to the minimum Mounted allowance, but no dismounting allowed)
2) Book 4 Open - Any army from Book 4 (Allies permissible, but must also be from Book 4. Dismounting allowed)
Each day will count separately for the UK League, so those playing on both days can score twice!! The Graham Fordham Trophy will be competed for over the course of the weekend and the winner will be the gamer with the highest points average across both days. Each mini-tournament winner will receive a prize too. We will endeavour to ensure that players do not play each other more than once over the weekend, wherever possible, to increase the diversity of opponents played, and a Swiss Chess style system will operate for rounds 2 & 3 in each mini-tournament.
1) Armies and Enemies of Mother Russia (860AD-1533AD)
List of permissible armies (allies must be from this list too, if used, and no dismounting)
At Britcon this year (2026) DBA will once again be a flexible two day event, making use of both Saturday and Sunday. The tournament will be divided into a five themed sections which will be mini-tournaments in their own right, but which will also contribute to one player being awarded the Graham Fordham Memorial Trophy:
Book your place now via the Britcon Booking page
The framework for the weekend will be as follows:
1. The two days of gaming will run from Saturday morning through to Sunday afternoon. Players can opt to play on both or either of these two days, which gives people flexibility to just game on the one day which works for them, or aim for both days, if they really wanted to go 'all-in' and get the full Britcon experience! A variety of options for people to stay overnight on the Saturday is available, so that we will hopefully have a repeat of the social get-together after the Saturday's gaming, adding to the weekend's fun. Accommodation may be offered at the University, but the organisers have managed to secure some deals with local hotels anyway, as last year - check out the page here: www.bhgs.org.uk/britcon---venue--directions.html
2. On Saturday there would be three 'mini' tournaments of three rounds of games in each, with Sunday having two 'mini' tournaments of three rounds of games in each. Timings will be approximately 9:30am-12:30pm, 1-4pm & 4:30-7:30pm on Saturday and 9:30am-12:30pm and 1-4pm on Sunday, with each game lasting around 50 minutes. This will give additional flexibility for people to play as many of the 'mini' tournaments in each day, so for instance, if they didn't want to commit to and max out on 9 games in the day, it may be that a gamer on the Saturday plays the first two tournaments, if they wanted to be away by 5pm, or travel on Saturday morning and play the second and third tournaments, or they could play the first and third and have a break in the middle to have a breather, browse the show and have a leisurely lunch and a chat. Lots of choice there to cater for different persuasions...
3. This format allows us to put on a range of themes across the weekend and increase the diversity of the competition. With a mini-tournament theme, if it's not going well, then never mind, as another one is just around the corner! This will also give the advantage of bringing a range of armies to play with and hopefully add to the variety of the weekend's competition. Themes have been planned so that it is possible for an army to play in more than one over the weekend, should the owner prefer, and 'loaner' armies will be available, for those with limited armies of their own or for people not wanting to transport too many over the weekend.
4. The mini-tournaments will have the following themes in 2026:
Saturday 8th August
1) Armies & Enemies of Mother Russia (860AD-1533AD) (see the next post below for permissible armies and allies, no dismounting)
2) Backwoods Brawl - Any Forest or Tropical army (Allies permissible, but must also be Forest or Tropical, no dismounting)
3) Darken the Skies - Any army with a minimum of 5x Shooting elements (Bw/Cb/Lb/Art/WWgh) (Allies permissible and can count to the minimum shooting allowance, but no dismounting allowed)
Sunday 9th August
1) Mounted Mayhem - Minimum 9 Mounted elements (Allies permissible and can count to the minimum Mounted allowance, but no dismounting allowed)
2) Book 4 Open - Any army from Book 4 (Allies permissible, but must also be from Book 4. Dismounting allowed)
Each day will count separately for the UK League, so those playing on both days can score twice!! The Graham Fordham Trophy will be competed for over the course of the weekend and the winner will be the gamer with the highest points average across both days. Each mini-tournament winner will receive a prize too. We will endeavour to ensure that players do not play each other more than once over the weekend, wherever possible, to increase the diversity of opponents played, and a Swiss Chess style system will operate for rounds 2 & 3 in each mini-tournament.
1) Armies and Enemies of Mother Russia (860AD-1533AD)
List of permissible armies (allies must be from this list too, if used, and no dismounting)
- III/48 Rus
- III/79 Early Russian
- IV/44a,b Post-Mongol Russian
- III/1a,c North/South Early Slav
- III/14c Early Bulgar
- III/29 Thematic Byzantine
- III/30a,b Magyar
- III/32 Volga Bulgar
- III/40b Viking
- III/47 Pecheneg
- III/58b Musfirid
- III/63a,b Early Polish
- III/65 Nikephorian Byzantine
- III/68a,b Early Hungarian
- III/76 Konstantinian Byzantine
- III/80 Cuman
- IV/18 Lithuanian
- IV/27 Estonian
- IV/28 Prussian
- IV/30 Teutonic Orders
- IV/35 Mongol Conquest
- IV/47 Golden Horde
- IV/66 Later Polish