A closer look at the VG edition of Hannibal

Now that I finally got the game let’s take closer look on it. I should mention that I won’t compare it to the old AH edition as most people have never and will never see it anyway. Besides, I sold my old copy when I decided to buy the new edition. Smart move? Let’s find out…

NB: In this review I have used pictures from the gallery here at BGG instead of taking my own. A big thanks to the people I have borrowed from. If I have used one of your pictures and you would rather that I had not, let me know and I’ll remove it.


The box and what’s in it



Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a falling elephant.

The game comes in a fairly big box with a nice finish. The box art is a bit over the top with elephants falling off a mountain and Hannibal looking like a cave man but I still like it. I also like the use of elephants on the back for suitable age and complexity. Nice touch.



When you open the box you find a 10-piece puzzle board map, rulebook, one player aid, two decks of cards, three sheets of playing pieces, two dice, 14 plastic stands and an insert to hold all the components.



Personally I usually throw out box insert right away as they never work in reality. Once you sleeve the cards (recommended) they won’t fit in the insert anymore and the other components will shake loose unless you have the game lying down anyway. As I have my games standing, bye-bye insert.


The dice



The lacquered wood dice are a nice touch, especially the Carthaginian one. I’ll probably use other dice when actually playing the game but I really like them.


The playing pieces



There are not many types of playing pieces in Hannibal. You have hexagonal political control markers (PCs) including tribes, round combat units (CUs) and square city markers. There are some additional information markers for turn, siege status, siege train and current proconsul. In addition to the markers you have a number of generals to be placed upright in the plastic stands.

The playing pieces look good and as they are made of thick cardboard there is a real quality feel to them.


The map



The map is probably the biggest news in the VG edition of Hannibal. It’s a ten piece puzzle board map. I’m not sure what I think about it? It’s of good quality and easy to assemble but how durable is it? Will it still hold after having been assembled 100 times? Normal folding maps have their problems as well, but as I usually play with Plexiglas it’s not that big a problem to me. I guess a paper map à la GMT was out of the question here as VG wants to sell the game to more people than just old wargamers, and with that in mind I think the puzzle board map was a good choice.

The map looks a bit busy though. Perhaps it’s the dual place names on all spaces? I also think Italy especially is a shade too dark. It’s hard to spot the connections between spaces at times.

On the map you’ll also find various tables and leader boxes. There’s an error on the attrition table, it says -1 modifier when crossing a non-Alps pass where it should be -2.


The rule book and play aid



The rule book is nicely done and in colour. The actual rules are the same as the AH 2nd edition rules, at least I couldn’t find any differences. There are some minor errors in the rules, but nothing major.

The play aid or summary sheet is nicely done on thick paper. I like the bloodstains. Good call to include the Carthaginian die legend here as well. What’s not good is that there are some errors on the summary sheet. The biggest being the Carthaginian reinforcements. Exchange one of the “1 CU with any General in Hispania (or in New Carthage) if New Carthage is Carthaginian controlled” with “1 CU with any General in Hispania (or in New Carthage) if the province of Baetica is Carthaginian controlled”.


The cards



There are two decks of cards used in Hannibal, one 64 card strategy deck and one 48 card battle deck. They are both made of coated paper of good stock. The cards are a bit smaller than the average playing card (and card sleeves) so you’ll have to get Yu-Gi-Oh sized sleeves here if you want a snug fit.

I really do recommend getting sleeves for the cards. Hannibal is a tense game so you’ll probably be all sweaty after a while which is bad for the cards. Protect those cards ASAP. I prefer clear sleeves myself, but sleeves in different colours for the two deck works as well.


Verdict

All in all I think Valley Games did great here. The game is of excellent quality and beautifully made. Ok, there are some things I would have done differently personally but that will always be the case. You simply can’t please everyone.

I rate this edition 8/10.

Note that I’m not rating the game itself (which I rate a 10) just how well made I think this edition is.