Army list

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In wargaming an army list is a description of how you can choose troops to make up the army that you wish to play.

Not all wargames have army lists, some (such as Hordes of the Things) allow a free choice of the various units allowed by the game.

One purpose of an army list is to guide the player in making a historically accurate army. For example, in a World War 2 game, there are likely to be different army lists for different nations at different times in the war. A German army from 1940 ought not to contain any Tiger I tanks as these were a later development in the war. So a 1940 army list would prohibit the selection of these vehicles, even if the game included rules for them.

Another purpose is to create balanced opposing forces. Frequently this is achieved through use of a points system, more powerful units costing proportionally more points.

A minority of games, such as Warhammer Fantasy Battle, use army lists to enforce the game's theme. In the example given, the game has a fantasy setting and the army lists enforce choices which are appropriate to this.