
- BGG rating
- 6.9
Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5.1: Way of the Samurai
- 2 players
- 50 min
- Complexity 2.0/5
- 2011

Expansion for Ancient Battles Deluxe: From Guts to Gunpowder
2010
Rules assistance for Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own is an expansion for Ancient Battles Deluxe: From Guts to Gunpowder released in 2010 for 2 players, 50 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Mike Nagel and its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid.
Now any ancient to early-gunpowder battle is yours to recreate with this Design Your Own (DYO) expansion kit for Ancient Battles Deluxe. Obscure historical clashes, what-if battles of your own invention, and custom design scenarios are yours to command. Notice: This Expansion Kit is not a ‘stand alone’ game. To use it, you must own a copy of: • Ancient Battles Deluxe • Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 1: Elephants at War • Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 2: Hell's Horsemen • Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 3: Strange Ordnance • Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 4: The Art of War Game Data: Complexity: 4 on a 9 scale Solitaire Suitability: 6 on a 9 scale Time scale: Each Game Turn equals 45 minutes Unit scale: Dozens to hundreds of men, beasts and equipment Game Components: • One 17” x 22” color game map • 144 1” color terrain hex tiles • 2 Players Aid Build Cost Charts • 1 Rules sheet • 1 Original, custom-designed scenario: Fornham St Genevieve, 1173 AD
Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own is 50 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own has a complexity rating of 2.0 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own belongs to these categories: Wargame, Ancient, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own are: Mike Nagel. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Ancient Battles Deluxe Expansion Kit 5: Design Your Own as an expansion for Ancient Battles Deluxe: From Guts to Gunpowder. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Ancient Battles Deluxe: From Guts to Gunpowder to use it. Check that your edition of Ancient Battles Deluxe: From Guts to Gunpowder is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.