In April I was able to take my playtest kit for Hannibal’s Revenge to the GMT Weekend at the Warehouse and play with several of the GMT Team Members in attendance, so that we could plan the next steps for development of the game. Needless to say, we had a great time playing the game and I was able to complete two playtests while I was there, in addition to several partial sessions.

One of the main goals in this test was to try out the new map from Mark Mahaffey and look for any issues with the pieces, sizes of the boxes, and coloration of the map to make sure that it was as usable as possible. The map passed with flying colors.

There are still some tweaks to the reminders on the map board to be made as well as some spelling corrections, but that’s why we do testing like this. In fact, most of my testing from this point on will be with a physical kit. Our final round of playtesting later this year (to be announced in our monthly newsletter) will certainly be supplemented with Vassal/Tabletop Simulator testing to make it as easy as possible for folks to join the test, but there is simply no replacement for physical testing. Some of the things being tested here were:

• Whether the spaces were big enough to hold all of the pieces, and whether the pieces were the right size for their holding boxes. It turns out everything is sized very well.
• The ergonomics of the layout of the map, cards, and pieces, and whether there was a high “bump factor” for the game when reaching across the map. This wasn’t a problem for us.
• Whether the information on the map was easy to find, use, and remember. Generally, this went well although there is one rules reminder we plan to add to the map in the next round of changes.
• Spelling! One person stopped by and pointed out that “Neapolis” was misspelled on the map – thank you Ryszard!
• Finally, we used this opportunity to do a final check of how all the various parts integrate together. That’s often done using a cobbled together set of pieces, but being at the warehouse I had access to the exact size and shape of pieces for the game. Everything fit together well.

Our next steps for Hannibal’s Revenge are a through editing of the rulebook, done by Kai, to match the Hitler’s Reich Second Edition Rules. Then we will undertake templating all the cards. We want to make sure that every time the card gives an instruction that it does it in a way that is consistent with all the other cards, using appropriate icons where necessary, and in a readable, usable, and enjoyable way.

The other Elephant in the room is the solitaire system. Hitler’s Reich has a bot that plays the Axis side, allowing you to control the Allies. With Hannibal’s Revenge, we knew that we would want a bot for each side. Hannibal’s Revenge adds physical cylinders and personality cards for historical leaders. Some are impetuous, some are cautious, some are heroic and some are hopeless — ghosts of Cannae, are you listening? Designer Mark McLaughlin has kept the core of Vez’s system in regards to what cards are drawn and played, but has modified and adapted it to account for the Leaders, some of whom are quite phlegmatic in their approach to strategy and tactics.

Once those Mountains are cleared, we will do two more rounds of testing. First, a thorough round of testing the solitaire systems, using final components. That will shake out any issues that are found with the map, cards, and rules. Then we will do a final round of playtesting, focused on usability and polish, primarily with physical kits. The road is long, but the payoff is worth it!

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