This article is sponsored by Phalanx. Learn more about Hannibal and Hamilcar and Support him on Gamefound until May 24th.
Two classic historical board games chronicling the clash between Rome and Carthage during the Punic Wars have returned to crowdfunding, giving you another chance to pick up the long-out-of-stock pair of card-based strategy titles.
Gamefound’s latest campaign for Hannibal & Hamilcar brings together designer Mark Simonitch’s acclaimed 1990s wargame Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage in its new, streamlined and revised Classic Edition with Hamilcar: Silver Edition, designed by Raymond de Maria based on Simonitch and John Rodriguez’s Hannibal companion game Hamilcar: First Punic War, which used similar game mechanics and some of the same components to focus on the naval side of the conflict.
Both games are based on a card system, with each of the two players controlling either Rome or Carthage and using an asymmetrical deck of strategy cards to command their units around the map, reinforce their armies, control distinct regions, and trigger historical events based on the period. When armies clash, whether on land or at sea, a separate set of battle cards is used to resolve the engagements, forcing players to juggle their political and military ambitions to achieve overall victory.
The 2018 combined re-release of Hannibal & Hamilcar was named BoardGameGeek’s Best Wargame at that year’s Golden Geeks, and the original Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage took home the same award and the top accolade for Best Two-Player Board Game a decade earlier. The two-in-one title currently has a BoardGameGeek user rating of 8.3 out of 10, with over 6,700 reviews, making it the 18th highest-rated wargame on the site at the time of this writing. Unlike the collected Hannibal & Hamilcar re-release, this latest edition presents the newer editions of the two games as separate box sets.
Phalanx’s latest crowdfunding campaign for Hannibal & Hamilcar on Gamefound offers another chance to pick up the out-of-print games (either separately or together in a bundle) along with a new exclusive set of metal miniatures finished in a dark wash to represent the Roman and Carthaginian generals in both titles. The miniatures will only be available through the crowdfunding campaign, Phalanx has confirmed.
Both games can be purchased for €80 together or €45 each, with the 26 metal miniatures contained in a wooden box illustrated with Hannibal Barca for €95; €160 will get you the full package of both games and the shiny new figurines. The re-released games are expected to arrive in August next year, and the Gamefound campaign gives you until May 24 to contribute.