Hannibal at the Gates: Rules for Ancient Era War Games

By Mr. Ralph Gero

Hannibal at the Gates is a set of war game rules for recreating battles of the ancient era using miniature figures. Over the years it has taken to develop the Hannibal at the Gates system we have played many enjoyable, challenging games. The game system is rich enough that it rewards players with a thoughtful challenge and mindful enough of history to give players a taste of command during the ancient era.Warfare in this era saw several different military systems; War Bands, Battle Lines, Phalanxes and Legions. In his introduction to The Book of War John Keegan characterizes a Legion vs. a Phalanx this way, "In its heyday the phalanx was unbeatable. Like all systems, however, it had the defect of its strength, which was inflexibility. As its enemies learnt to exploit that weakness, competing systems came into being. The most important was that of the rising power of Rome, whose legions preserved the Greeks' solidarity on the battlefield but deployed in smaller and looser sub-units armed with throwing as well as stabbing weapons. The Legion's maneuverability was higher than that of the phalanx, allowing it to outflank as well as confront an enemy formation, and so to win by envelopment rather than sheer weight of numbers." In Hannibal at the Gates a phalanx is powerful but, somewhat ponderous. The Legion is very flexible with at potent attack but, far less durable than the phalanx. Warriors have the advantage of an aggressive charge and countercharge making them strong in both their own turn and their opponent's turn. The Battle Line formation imparts several advantages to spearmen, swordsmen and heavy bowmen. HATG crafts every wing of every army such that each is roughly equal in value to every other wing of every other army. But, each army requires a different approach to succeed. Hannibal at the Gates is first and foremost a game. It is crafted to give friends an enjoyable, convivial evening. While the rules and procedures are fun they are also mindful of history and designed with play balance in mind. Hannibal at the Gates uses time tested game procedures based on probabilities. Furthermore, the system ensures that there is no single die roll that is so important, it alone will decide or unduly influence a game. The process is simple and effective with no unintended consequences. The core of the Hannibal at the Gates combat system is based on a proven math model. In probability theory there is a theorem called the Law of Large Numbers. The Law of Large Numbers guarantees predictable results for the averages of random events if there are enough of them. For example, while a casino may lose money on a single spin of the roulette wheel, their game is designed so that over a large number of spins the casino will make money. That is the Law of Large numbers in action. Hannibal at the Gates uses two standard dice for every combat die roll. In each combat die roll, a higher result is more desirable. This is Hannibal at the Gates' random event. Players will conduct the same random event many times during a game. As a result, Hannibal at the Gates can rely on the Law of Large numbers to reward good play while leaving enough of Lady Luck's dirty footprints to keep the game unpredictable and fun. Consequently, while there is room for a player to lose any fight when the opponent rolls higher dice, by the end of the game a player that has earned more positive modifiers and suffered fewer negative modifiers will inflict more hits. Hannibal at the Gates' procedures and rules are simple, but comprehensive. The rules do not impose stultifying, limiting imperatives that force players to take a predictable path to victory. Hannibal at the Gates is simple without being simplistic. The goal is for every game of Hannibal at the Gates to be fun, challenging and faithful to history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1546502971
• ISBN13: 9781546502975
• Release Date: May 2017
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.5" x 8.0"