This article originally appeared in Pyramid #22
Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage
Published 1996 by Avalon Hill
Designed by Mark Simonitch, based
on Mark Herman's We the People
$40.00Hannibal is an exciting development from Avalon Hill: a low-complexity wargame that holds the interest of both experienced and novice gamers. Most of their previous low-complexity wargames had a low replay ability for old-timers; not so Hannibal.
The game uses the system first introduced in We the People, a fine game about the American War of Inde-
pendence. Both games use cards to initiate actions, and other cards to resolve battles. Both games have point-to-point movement, not hex-grid. Both are enjoyable games that are never played the same twice. And finally, both games are very attractive, with mounted, colorful boards, stand-up generals, simplicity in pieces, and fairly clear rules.
But Hannibal goes beyond We the People in its design. It adds a little complexity, but the result is a feeling of more depth and choices.
The setting is the Second Punic War, which included Hannibal's famous crossing of the Alps with elephants in 218 B.C. For the next seven years, Hannibal either destroyed or frightened away every Roman army that he faced as he marched up and down the Italian peninsula, trying to win support from Rome's subjugated neighbors. It wasn't until Scipio Africanus came on the scene in 211 B.C. that Hannibal met his match.
The game is played in phases: Reinforcements, Strategy phase, Winter Attrition, Political . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: November 1, 1996
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