The brand-new Hannibal battle set for Hail Caesar Epic Battles is the ultimate way to leap into wargaming the Punic Wars. contains well over 3,100 miniature soldiers, and whilst they may be small, that’s a lot of troops to pass across your hobby workstation. Thankfully, the box includes a whole second way to use a portion of your new collection, allowing you to leap right into the action! Enter the Scipio battle game.
Scipio has been penned by John Lambshead and Rick Priestley, who are no strangers to game design! Fast-paced, and easy to learn, the game also serves as a perfect primer for those new to the tactics of the Punic Wars, and in particular the manipular tactics employed by the Republican Romans of the time.
Using thirty stands per side, you’ll have forces for two players whipped up in next to no time, with no need to paint anything thanks to the coloured sprues (tan for Romans & grey for Carthaginians), although there’s absolutely no harm if you want to! Each side will call upon a variety of troop types, from the screening skirmishers through to heavy cavalry; you’ll need to make the best use of your stands, utilising their strengths and exploiting your opponent’s weaknesses, to overwhelm the enemy force and either breakthrough their lines or destroy half the enemy force. The game is quick to learn, yet hard to master, and with a playtime of 60-90 minutes, and myriad ways to deploy your troops, it’s endlessly replayable, with plenty of opportunity to develop your tactics. There’s even a simple campaign system to help you keep track of your victories.
There are also optional special rules that allow you to add even more period flavour to your games, particularly for the Carthaginian side. Gallic Celt infantry can benefit from Fercious Charge, reflecting their legendary predilection for charging en masse and overwhelming an enemy. You could also employ a War Elephant, a sturdy, yet slightly unreliable prospect when there’s a chance that they’ll refuse to attack, or potentially trample a friendly unit!
Warlord staffers have been taking advantage of the relatively small stand count to get some Punic Wars action in, left, right and centre! Warlord CEO John Stallard has been spied chivvying eager gamers out of his office, in which is situated a rather convenient table…
Look for a full Scipio battle report in the near future!
With its two vast armies, the full-colour Hail Caesar Epic Battles rulebook, and the Scipio battle game, the Hannibal Battle Set is the perfect way to dive into wargaming the Punic Wars!
