Introduction by Hannibal’s Revenge Game Developer, Fred Schachter: To those who placed P500 orders for the game and/or InsideGMT readers curious regarding the all too long hiatus in communications regarding it, Mark and I, after tragic periods in our personal lives (we both lost our beloved wives within a single year), are pleased to resume Hannibal’s Revenge progress with our wonderful publisher, GMT Games’, support. The first game of the “Card Conquest System” series is Hitler’s Reich.  This game, although using a similar “engine” for resolving conflict, modifies the system to depict a fascinating and legendary historical struggle. Now to Mark for his update of this next “Card Conquest” Series game.

Introduction by Game Designer, Mark McLaughlin: Hannibal’s Revenge is not your typical game about the titular scourge of Rome.  Nor is it your typical wargame. It does cover the Second Punic War, as have so many games which have come and gone before (with a tip of the helmet to Mark Simonitch for his classic Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage | Board Game | BoardGameGeek  – both the original and the glorious remake with chess-like model soldiers), but in a unique manner. As to my design regarding this topic…

Solo (for either side) or Up to Four Players

First of all, Hannibal’s Revenge is playable Solo or with up to four players.  In the four player version, there are two teams:  Carthaginians and Gauls vs. the Roman Republic and its Latin Allies.  Players win or lose as a team – they fail or succeed together.  In the three player version, one player takes a side and the others are the opposing team.  If only two players are gaming, each takes a team.  In the game’s Solo version, the player may take EITHER team and the opposing team is run by an NPC (Non-Player Character or “Bot” as is the fashion to describe an opponent run by the game system… a kind of “A.I.”).

For those familiar with Hitler’s Reich, the first game of the Card Conquest Series, Hannibal’s Revenge introduces new game mechanisms, including the politics of Carthage and the Roman Republic (e.g. choosing two Consuls from a pool of contenders), Armies depicted by wooden tokens which may move about the game board, leaders who can  be killed, injured, or removed from command, and the ability to conduct sieges. However, the core Card Conquest System remains.

The Classic Card Game of  “War” – Enhanced with Leaders, Event Cards and Dice

Second, combat (or “Conflict” as my co-designer SPI emeritus, bon vivant and native New Yorker Fred Schacter prefers to call it) is handled with a combination of old and new methods, all of which are familiar and easy to learn, but come together in a unique manner. The game takes the classic kids’ card game of “War” and ramps it up three levels by adding Leaders, Event Cards and dice to determine a result.

Whenever opponents come together to fight a battle (on land or on the sea), resolve a siege, or even try to game an Event Card (more on those later), there is a “Conflict.”  (So, now you see why Fred, in his wisdom, chose the fancier 20 denarii word).

In a Conflict, each side secretly chooses a Conflict Card.   There are four suits – just like in a regular deck of playing cards.  Instead of Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades there are Romans, Carthaginians, Gauls and Latin Allies.  Instead of Ace through King, they are numbered 1 to 13 – with a pair of “Jokers” thrown in (one per side, initially) just to spice things up.  And “spice” it up they do, as each is called a “Prodotis” – Greek for “Traitor”).

Each player notes the number value on the card (for example the “12” on the top line of the Roman Tribune Card shown above).  Three dice are rolled and added to that number (so a roll of a 3, a 4, and a 1 would add 8, for a total of 20). That dice roll, however, can be added to or otherwise modified in several ways. 

One such manner would be through use of an Event and/or Conflict Card.  Some add one or two dice, convert a die to a higher or lower number, or allow or require a re-roll of one or more dice.  The other manner in which it may be modified is noted on the Conflict Card itself.  In using the Roman Tribune Card, for example, the player may choose to re-roll one or two of their dice in hopes of getting a higher number. Yes, hope indeed, since it’s possible to get a worse result… dice rerolling can prove a “double edged sword”.  But that type of decisioning, along with card selection, is what helps make Hannibal’s Revenge such a fun game to play.

As if THOSE were not enough ways to modify the outcome, as noted above, some of the Conflict and Event Cards have special qualities that are too numerous to go through in this article (they deserve and will get their own article), AND, there are Leaders with their own unique abilities (not all of them beneficial, as the Romans will discover as not all Consuls are created equal).  After all, it is said that to have a Cannae, one needs not just a Hannibal but also a Varo,(as will be explained in yet another article of this ongoing series).

When the dust settles and final tallies are made, the side with the higher total wins the day (or the battle, the siege, or gains or stops the other side from gaining the Event Card they are fighting over).

But what if there is a tie?  Well, that is yet another unique aspect of Conflict.  If the Conflict Card played was a Roman Card, it wins the tie.  If it was a Latin Ally Card, it loses the tie.

In other words, just like in history and in life, there are so many variables that it is impossible to be certain of victory, even if you play the best card in the suit (a 13) – as there is always a potential counter available from the other side.  For example, the “Ace” or “1” cards are Dolofonos, which is Greek for “Murderers”, reduce the value of the opponent’s Conflict Card to a “1” – thus do the high and mighty fall to the assassin’s blade.

Want to make the gods laugh? Make a Plan and Watch Your Opponent Play an Event

As noted above, there are Event Cards that can make or break the most intricate and well laid plans. These cards come in three varieties:  Roman Team, Carthaginian Team, Anybody’s Team. Through a Conflict Action, only the Roman Team can attempt to take a Roman Event Card, just as a Carthaginian Team may only attempt to take a Carthaginian Event Card.   Either side may try for a Common Event Card.    Not all cards are available at all times – unlike Hitler’s Reich which has all available Event Cards on display, Hannibal’s Revenge’s array of available cards to choose from is limited so that no more than six of any type are up for grabs at any one time.   If the Roman Team wants to try for an Event on their turn, they enter into a Conflict with the Carthaginian Team, whose goal is not to gain the Event for themselves, but to prevent their opponent from obtaining that Event.  If an Event card is gained, the array of cards to select from is replenished to six.

The cards shown above are but a tease, a taste, of the full deck of 54 Events.  Some modify Conflict, increase or decrease the number of Conflict cards in a Team’s hand, add or remove or otherwise hinder Leaders, change who controls a city or area, or…well, dear reader, you will have to wait for the Event Card article to learn more.   Each Event, by the way, is something (or someone) that historically occurred during the Second Punic War, which is when Hannibal sought Revenge for his father’s defeat in the previous conflict.  For more regarding this upcoming GMT P-500 game, including play test art of other cards and the game board, see: Meet the Leaders & Gameboard of Hannibal’s Revenge | Inside GMT blog.

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