Physical Quality: The board is printed in three colors, blue, brown and tan, on heavy cardboard approximately 27"x19.5" with one fold in the middle. It covers the area of Africa, Italia and Hispania. There are mountains in the game(these are the only terrain features) and these have no effect, except for the Alps.

The counters are round die-cut pieces whose art work is questionable. There are exactly 44 pieces per side, though many of them may never see use. They appear as cavalry, infantry and naval units.

The rules come in a large fold-up sheet, listing six pages of rules, but they are double size pages, with a large type. Included with the rules are two additional pages, one having the combat tables and the other having time-record and point values. The rules include diagrams and strategies for play.

Rules: The rules are fair to adequate. There are no real contradictions; however, there is a lot left unsaid, though implied. There is room for improvement. Also, because this game is so different from any other it takes some time to get used to the fluidity of the game and rules.

There are many rules found here that don't appear in any other game. Things like ambush, treachery, siege and desertion. In this revised edition traps and raids have been excluded. An ambush for example, takes place whenever anyone goes through the Alps. A die is rolled and anywhere from 0-4 of your units may be destroyed (those Helvetii can be ferocious).

For treachery, a die is rolled and you either succeed or you don't. What most of these rules come down to are die rolls.

In this game there are no zones of control, and no one has to do battle unless they wish to.

Comments: The game is a purely strategic one. The board is divided into three provinces: Africa, Italia and Hispania, and movement is unlimited within each province. Once, however, you enter a new province, you cannot move out until next turn. Battles are fought by having each player pick a strategy (from Envelopment by Cavalry, Envelopment by Infantry, and Infantry Against Center) and each player rolls a die. The effects of each roll are compared and one side only removes losses. This is perhaps the only bad part of the game. Hannibal was a tactician, especially noted for his use of elephants and cavalry, yet in this game there is no real tactical quality.

The earlier version of the game had battles fought tactically in a fashion similar to Jutland and I think it should have been kept. The larger army you have the better your chance of winning, but the Carthaginian has one very important tactical advantage. Only he has cavalry which makes him superior on the battlefield. The counters in this game have become nothing more than checkers, making the game somewhat more like Diplomacy than a regilar tactical wargame.

Also, because of the nature of the game many fine points are lacking, and a new type of finesse must be developed.

Rule Headings: Gameboard, Playing Pieces, Time Record, Play Procedure, Initial Set-tip, Movement, Battle, Improved Roman Tactics, Naval Units, Naval Search, Weather, Capture, Naval Deterioration, Siege, Siege Restrictions, City and Seaport Deteriation, Treachery, Supply, Province Control, the Northern Provinces, Replacements, Desertion, Ambush, and Victory Conditions.

Victory Conditious: Victory is determined by points, which are received for capturing cities and provinces. The first player to get 25 in one turn wins. (Rome, for example, is worth 15, though most cities are 1 to 4 points apiece.) The Carthaginian cannot siege cities in Italia, however, and can only take occupied cities by treachery, but if the Roman has more than one unit in the city, it cannot be captured. The Roman has 11 units of infantry to begin with, and has 23 cities in Italia alone to protect, plus three in Hispania and five in Sicilia. The Carthaginian starts with 13 infantry and 2 cavalry. The Roman has a great superiority on the sea, which is needed to prevent Carthaginian sea movement. If the Roman should lose his sea advantage, he is in trouble.

Recommendation: One of the great advantages of this game is that because of its great fluidity of movement, victory is difficult to predict. It allows the use of different strategies, in fact it encourages it.

Because it is a strategic game, much depends on a die roll. One roll can wipe out your army or that of your opponents. The simplicity of playability makes the game look deceptively easy. Only after playing can you discover its fine points. Because of the replacement rates, the loss of units does not hurt you, only the loss of cities. A Roman player always has 23 units on board at the beginning of each turn.

For those players who delight in tactical battles, this game may bore or confound you, but is worth looking into just for its differences. For those who enjoy strategic games, this is a game you should look into. I'm not going to put forth any strategies here, since each player should find his own. The game is so varied and with a large emphasis on luck that only generalities will work, and those you will find in the game itself.

Before closing, Mr. Ruseicki is to be complimented for his success in retaining historical accuracy. He has shown great understanding in transferring the historical period to a game, ard in retaining the essense of that period. Considering that the game is historically accurate, and the playability is very good, the only real drawback is the price. $7.00 is quite a stiff price considerinq the quality of some of the components. If you can afford to cough up the money, it is well worth it.

1: Design Analysis