Introduction

As shared by 9/19/24’s GMT Update (September 19 Update from GMT: New P500s, Many Game Updates, Art Samples, and More! (mailchi.mp)), Hannibal’s Revenge: A Card Conquest Series Game, received a status update and something of a “teaser”.  That teaser was a promise for an After-Action Report of Hannibal’s Revenge playing when my two buddies, George and Perry, from our youthful New York City wargaming days, arrived at my North Carolina home for an annual gaming get-together.  Ah, a happy multi-day escape from our normal routines!

To begin, in a matter of minutes, I taught these two veteran gamers Hannibal’s Revenge’s rules, with each of them referring to a two-side printed Hannibal’s Revenge Player Aid. This Aid includes everything a player may need while game action is underway. (Yes, there was also a short and easy to reference 10 page “Learn to Play Guide”, as well as a much larger full Rulebook available, but the guys had ME for any detailed rule question which might arise).

So, with the game and participants raring to go, our two competitors decided it could be fun experiencing both sides of the Hannibal’s Revenge game!  Therefore, two games would be played.  The first with Perry as the Carthaginians (Hannibal) and George as Rome.  The second contest would see them change sides: George as Carthage and Perry playing Rome.  “The Old Switcheroo”, eh?

What follows is a high-level After-Action Report (AAR) of Game #1’s First Sexennium, of which each Hannibal’s Revenge game has three. This is done for article conciseness’s sake, to provide readers a description of game flow which reveals each player’s strategy in their pursuit of Second Punic War victory… but not including every card play, incremental movement of armies on the map, and/or conflict dice rolls.

Before reading this AAR, for additional Hannibal’s Revenge background, please reference this InsideGMT article for a general overview of the game, albeit with utilizing an early playtest version lacking Mark Mahaffey’s transformative graphic talents: Meet the Leaders & Gameboard of Hannibal’s Revenge | Inside GMT blog.

Now to Game #1’s After-Action Report.    

Hannibal’s Revenge Game #1 First Sexenium

Taking Hannibal’s Army from its New Carthage at start position in Hispania,Perry tried to unsuccessfully besiege and take Saguntum.   He lost repeated rounds… even with help of a “Siege” Event Card.  Frustrated by this failure, Perry abandoned the siege and took Hannibal and his “Elephants” enhanced Army to conquer four of the gameboard’s five Barbarian areas using a single Movement Action’s “Pursuit” ability.  But the fifth Barbarian area foiled the Carthaginians and repulsed Hannibal.  The “Elephants” card was eliminated and reshuffled into the Event Card discards. Dice!

When it was George’s turn as Rome, he took control of the Sea Zones outside Rome and Naples.  As luck of the draw had the mediocre Appius Claudius elected Consul along with “Impetuous” Terrentius Varro (who led the legions at the historical battle of Cannae: a Roman catastrophe!), George sent Varro’s Consular Army into Africa where, of course, he had to battle Hastrubal’s Carthaginian Army outside Carthage itself.  George was seeking to get the impetuous and incompetent Varro out of action (wounded in terms of the game) under controlled circumstances.  Otherwise, what trouble could result in having Varro anywhere near Hannibal?

To our amusement Varro won the city of Carthage hinterland battle!  However, when it was Perry’s turn, Hasrtrubal counter-attacked, used the Event Card forcing a Conflict Card to be randomly selected from Rome’s hand and won a Major battle victory.  Due to not having a place to retreat to, Varro’s defeat became a decisive Carthaginian victory.  In this process Varro was wounded with the Roman Conflict Card Hand reduced by one as another consequence of this a battlefield defeat.

Hannibal’s Army, after finally conquering the stubborn Gallia Transalpina Barbarian area, then invaded Italy via the Consular Army vacant Massillia area.  This was due to Appius Claudius being in Massillia itself anticipating a Carthaginian siege.  Perry did not take the bait, he bypassed Massillia, invaded Italia and took control of the Roman areas of Etruria, Samnium, and the Rome hinterland to besiege the city of Rome itself (unsuccessfully as Rome is a “tough nut to crack”).

After its defeat, the Roman Consular Army in Africa was reconstituted in Rome where Tiberius Longus, another “Impetuous” Consul (!), was randomly selected out of the Senate Pool to replace the wounded Varro.  True to his nature, he attacked and broke Hannibal’s siege of the Republic’s Capital forcing the Carthaginian Army to retreat… back into Italy’s hinterland where it still presented a dire danger at the end of the Sexennium.  Longus then repositioned his army to the Sea Zone outside Rome after resolving a Neutral Area Conflict to place a Control Marker on the Corsica Sea Zone.  George presumes Longus being offshore Rome provides the best flexibility alternative depending on what Hannibal does next.

Here’s a photo of the Hannibal’s Revenge gameboard as the players prepare to resolve its first Sexennium.

Hannibal’s Revenge Game #1 Before Resolving the End of the First Sexennium Procedure (Rome’s Sexennium Marker is about to join Carthage’s to trigger it): A Roman Consular Army under Appius Claudius is within the walled city of Massillia while Titus Longus’ Army is offshore Rome.  Hannibal threateningly remains in the Rome Hinterland and Hastrubal the city of Carthage with their respective armies.   The Roman Player is in the lead with a Conflict Card Hand Size of 9 versus Carthage’s 6… but that could all change with the upcoming second Sexennium!

Note a red cylinder upon the face-down Varro Leader Card.  An End of Sexennium die roll will determine whether he dies or recovers from his wounds to rejoin the Senate.  Those familiar with Hitler’s Reich, the first game of the Card Conquest Series, may observe that this Hannibal’s Revenge AAR photo does not show Event Card Arrays with every available card face-up for potential selection via a victorious Event Card Conflict.  In this game, only six (6!) cards are available from the Roman and Carthaginian Event Card Arrays (these are on a nearby snack table) with the Shared Event Card Array’s six cards placed opposite the gameboard’s north edge.  When a card is won from an Array, it is immediately replaced by another face-up card from its Draw Deck.

This is but one of the differences between Hitler’s Reich and Hannibal’s Revenge.  More on that topic with an upcoming InsideGMT article.

Conclusion

Tempted though I am to comment on my friends’ approaches to playing the game, there’ll be nothing noted for now pending this article’s Part 2 of 2.  Hopefully, readers can get a sense of the excitement and fun Perry and George had in playing this, their first fast-moving game of Hannibal’s Revenge’s first Sexennium.

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