[Review] Age of Hannibal

[Leman]

Or alternatively use a different set of ancient rules.

[T13A]

Hi Nick

You can only use the rules 'as written' if your bases are square.

Cheers Paul

[Nick the Lemming]

Hi Nick

You can only use the rules 'as written' if your bases are square.

Cheers Paul

The rules suggest using square bases, but I'm racking my brain trying to think of any situation where you can't have bases that aren't square, or where they explicitly say that you need to have square bases.

[T13A]

Hi Nick

'Suggesting' that you use square bases is at variance with stating (and highlighting) in the rules that "All that matters is that the opposing armies are based in like fashion".

Examples of where the rules do not work unless the bases are square:

Page 8 Movement (first column): "They may change facing (right, left or about face) at a cost of half their movement rate....."

Imagine a simple line of heavy infantry units, all facing in the same direction and side base to side base that I want to turn 90 degrees to the flank so that I can move them off in column and get the extra 2" movement bonus. This works fine if the bases are square (the footprint would not change and the units would be where they started), but imagine doing the same with my heavy infantry which are based 8cm frontage x 3cm deep. Exactly where would the units at the back of the column end up?

Making contact (page 9, first column)

When units contact, the attacking unit always conforms to the defender (ie. regardlees of where an attacking unit touches the defending unit, the attcking unit is placed 'square up' to the defending unit). Again no great problem with 4cm square bases. But having a line of units on larger frontage bases caused all sorts of problems and anomolies to the attackers line in the three large games we had with the rules.

Flank and Rear Attacks (page 9, second column)

"When attacking, units with enough movement may "wrap around" an enemy unit's exposed flank". Again no problem with square bases - the flanking unit has exactly the same frontage as the side of the defending unit. However using my heavy infantry as an example again, in the same situation the flanking unit would have a frontage of 8cm against the side of the defending unit which is only 3cm leaving 5cm not touching anybody unless there are other units immediatly behind the defending unit which in itself throws up all sorts of problems with the way the rules work.

Under the same rule, the defending unit may turn to face the attacker to its flank - again no problem with square based units, but just try it with units on rectangular bases with other units positioned closeby - it just does not work.

Retreat (page10, 2nd column)

"Units forced to retreat due to double demoralization fall back a single base depth". Yet again fine if all the units are based exactly the same. But what if your bases have different depths depending on troop type? Mine range from 2cm depth (skirmishers) to 6cm depth for cavalry units. S again this causes all sorts of problems.

As you say the rules do not explicitly say that you need to have square bases, but they should.

Again this is all based on playing 3 large games with the rules.

Cheers Paul

[Westmarcher]

... and this is why I dislike rules that have different base widths and depths for different troop types and I now have most of my miniatures on square bases. 

[T13A]

....and bizarrely this is why I dislike rules that unambiguously state that "All that matters for game-play is that the opposing armies are based in like fashion" and when you actually play them that is patently not the case. 

Cheers Paul

[Leman]

I'd send them back, mate, as a dissatisfied customer. Think of all the HotT you could have been playing instead of fretting over another set of rules.

[Nick the Lemming]

Those are some fair points Paul, at least concerning columns (hasn't come up in any of my games yet), but easily dealt with - if you're using rectangular bases,  assign an invisible rear element to square them up.