Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage - Our 2-Player Strategy Board Game of 2007!
We want to kick off 2008 with a series of What’s New articles highlighting the games that really caught our eye in 2007.
Firstly, we want to look at what, in our opinion, was the best 2-player strategy game of the last year and one of the best of the decade, Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage.
Based on the same card-driven system pioneered by We The People and, latterly, Twilight Struggle (another great 2-player game), Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage recreates the struggle for control of the Western Mediterranean known as the Second Punic War in the last years of the 3rd Century BC.
It’s an epic game in which players have to choose whether to use cards for the events they describe or the points’ value they represent. This dynamic underpins gameplay as players try to reconcile the need to use points to move armies and place political control markers with the desire to cause the unexpected through events.
It is all too easy to create havoc with fast-moving armies winning major battles only to discover your opponent has gained the upper hand by quietly spending points to gain political control of empty provinces.
There is some evidence that the game is weighted towards Rome and historical authenticity but it is by no means impossible for Hannibal to sweep through Italy and win the game. Indeed, it is possible for him to win without actually invading Italy at all!
The system for resolving battles has been justifiably criticised for being essentially luck-based but this is not a tactical game and clever strategy will more often than not be rewarded by victory in battle.
Unlike Twilight Struggle, the production values of Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage are superb with a well-designed, properly mounted board. This is a game that will merit repeated play and is the Game Stack 2-Player Strategy Board Game of 2007!
