2013-14 Tourney

Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage (HRC) is a strategy game published by Valley Games and Avalon Hill. This tournament is sponsored by the Boardgame Player’s Association (BPA).

This PBEM tournament is expected to start on or after October 15, 2013 and run through June, 2015.

Updated September 14, 2013, link to 2nd edition rulebooks, card list, and player’s aid card added.

Updated October 15, 2013, Tournament has started. New mandatory Rule on ACTS end of deck card dealing added.  See Tournament Rule 1.0.

Updated November 21, 2013, Check the clarifications link above for commonly asked gameplay questions. New battle card error handling rule added.

Updated August 18, 2018. This tournament is now complete. Please go to  for discussiuon about this game, http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?14@@.ee6c980

Good luck!

To Sign up, post a comment below. Note that first time comments will be moderated so your comment may not appear immediately.

Players of all experience levels welcome!

Tournament Qualifications

• Must be a member of the Boardgame Player’s Association(BPA)  with a minimum of Associate Membership level for 2013.
• For more information about the BPA, go to http://www.boardgamers.org.
• Must have an email account.
• Must have internet access.

Start Dates and Format:

• This tournament starts on October 15, 2013 and is expected to end by June 30, 2015.
• The format will be Swiss Elimination.  There will be 3 Swiss rounds.
• At the conclusion of the Swiss rounds, there  will be 3 single elimination rounds to determine the PBEM tournament champion.
• Each player will earn tournament points equal to the AREA rating of the opponents they have defeated. Records to determine the playoff contenders will be broken by tournament points first, head to head record (if available) and then  random die roll.
• The first round matchup will be generated randomly, and subsequent matchups will be matched based on won/loss records except players who have played previously in Swiss rounds will not be rematched until the single elimination rounds.
• All games must be played using ACTS or any mutually agreed upon method, including wargameroom
• The GM will be the game owner & moderator for each game on ACTS.
• If the players cannot agree on the format to be used, ACTS is the default and must be used.
• Any player demonstrating a lack of sportsmanship may be dropped from the tournament without warning at the sole  discretion of the GM.
• For AREA rating purposes, let the GM know if the two of you have played  an AREA rated game of Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage previously to this game.
• Sides for each match will be determined by bidding PCs. Any two opponents may skip the bidding process if they agree to sides of mutual satisfaction. Before making this decision, determine  which rule edition will be used and if any optional adjustments are being used.
• The GM will randomly assign one of the players the first bid.
•  Players will bid for the right to choose their preferred side.

Bidding Process

i. To make a bid, a player clearly states the number  of PCs (minimum of 0) which he is offering and the side he wishes  to play.

ii.  When offered a bid by an opponent, a player must   either accept or raise the bid.

a) Acceptance of the bid allows your opponent to play  the stated side he desires for the stated PC Adjustment

b) Raising the bid amounts to offering a greater bid for   the same stated side. Simply state a higher PC bid than previously mentioned.

iii, When an opponent raises the bid, a player responds   by accepting the new bid or raising the bid. Raising may continue  until one player accepts a bid.

iv.  Bids may be of any amount, but must be in integers (0, 1, 2, etc. ). An opening bid may be zero, but not less than   zero. A raise must exceed the last bid and be an integer.

v. PC Adjustment. After setting up the board for play,  but before the first turn cards are dealt, the player who accepted  his opponent’s bid makes PC adjustments equal to the amount of  the final bid. The player may use each point of the bid to place  one friendly PC or remove one enemy PC (using a combination of  both in the same space if so desired and if more than one PC   was bid). Removed PCs must be non-walled, non-tribe PCs. Once  the PC adjustments are made, the game commences and is scored as usual.

• Rule Edition. The default edition is Valley Games’  rule set (equivalent to the web-published Second edition). See Resources below for links to rulebooks, strategy card lists, and player aids.
• By  mutual agreement, players may use the First Edition rules. If opponents cannot agree on the edition to use, then the players will use the web-published Second Edition rules.
• After a game has started, if a player is unable to continue, his opponent will be awarded the victory.

Tournament Rules (Apply to all games in this tournament)

Updated November 30, 2013. The Hannibal module in ACTS has been adjusted to correctly handle the end of deck reshuffle. The 1.0 ACTS End of Deck Reshuffle Workaround is no longer needed.

1.0 ACTS End of Deck Reshuffle Workaround   If using ACTS to play your tournament game, you may use this workaround. When  ACTS deals out cards and there are not enough cards to fill each player’s hands completely, both players must discard all their cards and initiate a reshuffle in ACTS and re-deal the cards to fill your hands.

This typically happens near the end of a deck as ACTS does not track cards properly in the Hannibal module and does not add back discards until all cards are exhausted. This workaround addresses this issue.

1.1 Transport Rule. Carthage can transport 1 CU with a  general and obtain a -­1 drm on the Naval table.

1.2 Mountain Crossings. If using the second edition rules or the Valley Games rules, the optional rule on mountain pass attrition is mandatory. That is, the modifiers are: Alps = 0; Non-Alps = ­-2

Optional Adjustments (must be mutually agreed upon prior to bidding)

1.3  OPTIONAL Messenger Intercepted. As a game balancing mechanism in tournament play, players may agree to use this optional rule.

a) If players mutually agree, and write such agreement on their     game record sheet (e.g. “Using Optional Messenger”),  they may use this modification.

b) Whenever the Messenger Intercepted card is played as an event  (play as a 3-card is unaffected), the person playing the card rolls one six-sided die and modifies the result by adding a number equal to the current turn number of the game (i.e. 9 on the last turn of the game; 1 on the first turn). If the modified die roll result is 10 or lower, the event occurs normally. If the result  is 11 or higher, then the event card is discarded with no effect.

c) Example: Karsten is desperate in his comeback bid to beat    Dave, so he decides to use the event on Turn 9. He must roll a 1 for the event to occur; on a 2-6 the modified result is above  10, making the card ineffective.

1.4 OPTIONAL Syracuse. In a nod to history and as a game balancing mechanism in tournament play, players may agree to use this optional rule.

a) If players mutually agree, and write such agreement on their  game record sheet (e.g. “Using Optional Syracuse”),   they may use this modification.

b) The Syracuse card is treated as a Event that must be played,  regardless of which player has the card. In effect, it is now a dual-player event that has no other use than to trigger the alliance for Carthage, and it cannot be postponed by play in any other manner. Once played, it is still removed from the deck.

Resources

Valley Games Rulebook PDF: hannibalromevscarthage

Strategy Card List:  Hannibal cards

Player’s Aid Card:  HRvC_Player_Aid_v1

2nd Edition rulebook: http://www.grognard.com/info1/hanrules2.pdf

Shorter 2nd Edition rulebook with bigger font: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~gnichols/glg/Hannibal2ed.pdf

Error Handling

• Player A makes an illegal move(s), attack(s), etc.
• Player B can accept the move as is without changes, or declining this, …
• Player A must redo the entire move. Once additional cards have been played by the other player, the error stands, so pay attention.
• If you roll too many dice, ignore the extra ones.
• If you roll too few dice, the ones you roll count, roll for the missing ones.
• if you roll for possible response for your opponent and later there is another  possible response and you opponent hasn’t taken any action to accept the first roll then he can choose to make another roll. This can be avoided if you list all possible  interceptions , then make the roll. He would be free to choose any of the possible intercepts if successful.  It isn’t fair to assume you opponent would make the first interception and after rolling for him and  finding that it didn’t succeed, make the balance of you move secure in this knowledge.
• If a player makes takes an action that could be interrupted, his opponent  is free to play an interrupting card  if at his first opportunity he does so, even in cases where the phasing player has made a roll.  Examples : (1)You make an Amphibious assault and you roll the dice for the assault. Your opponent is still free to play “Severe Storms At Sea” that cancels your move. (2) If your opponent makes a move, you respond and then he continues his move you could not then after seeing  more of his move, play an interrupt card to cancel his move.
• Battle card error handling. If too few battle cards are drawn for one side or the other, both sides can opt for the following options: (1) Inform the GM and GM will manually deal out extra battle cards off-line and provide them to the players, or (2) if both sides mutually agree, battle cards will be re-dealt and current battle card hands will not be used. If players do not mutually agree, option (1) must be used and the GM informed.

Rule disputes

• Rules disputes will be arbitrated by the GM, or in the case of games involving the GM, by the assistant GM. All rule arbitration decisions of the GM will be final.
• The GMs and Assistant GMs will be participating in this tournament.
• The GM is Tim and the Assistant GMs are Michael Mitchell and Mike Welker.
• E-mail questions to the GM or to the Assistant GM if the game involves the GM.
• Definitive answers will only come from the GM  (or Assistant GM if the game involves the GM).
• Questions posted on CSW will not be answered in a timely fashion.

Sportsmanship

• The primary purpose of the tournament is to provide BPA members with a competitive recreation.  Stated more explicitly, to have fun in a structured, competitive format. The maximum enjoyment by BPA members can only be guaranteed when all players agree to exercise exemplary sportsmanship and to play with consideration for their fellow players’ time and interests.
• The game master and his assistants are happy to provide support to the players whenever any question may arise during the course of play that might possibly lead to hard feelings.   The earlier we are involved, the easier it is to repair a deteriorating situation, correct misimpressions or repair mishandled moves and similar mistakes in play.  It is natural not to want to complain or be perceived as “tattling”, but we encourage players to put aside that reluctance and bring any issue to the game master as soon as it is clear that a mutually satisfactory solution cannot be immediately reached.  This is far more preferable to wasting time and possibly risking an existent or emerging friendship.
• One element of sportsmanship is respect for the time of all players in the tournament, not just one’s immediate opponent.  The game master will adjudicate unfinished games on the basis of time spent making moves and patterns of time used as described later.  However, no one wants to win (nor lose) on the basis of adjudication, and certainly not on the basis of time vice the merits of the board position.  Therefore, we strongly encourage all players to commit to and maintain a steady pace of play.  The tournament will run almost 2 years for those reaching the final brackets.  That is a long time to expect to play a card per day on average.  In practice, the vast majority of games will end long before the 120th day, but one should be mentally prepared to commit to the long haul, or to withdrawing from the tournament should personal commitments take priority over this hobby commitment.  It may seem cruel for the game master to not grant time extensions for the more tragic of life’s events such as deaths, illness, fires and natural disasters. Actuarially speaking, with the number of players enrolled in the tournament, we can be certain that such lamentable events will occur to at least a few of our number.  However, it is also not fair to ask all players to indefinitely extend the tournament to accommodate a stricken player.  This is after all, just a game.  I recommend that a player so afflicted keep their priorities straight and withdraw from the tournament, to try again in the next. However, we also recognize that the recreation provided by our hobby can be a mental health boon to a player who is otherwise in distress.  If that player can remain on, or regain, pace and compete within the time frame, we will be thrilled to provide them respite from their troubles.   Bottom line:  The game master will adjudicate any unfinished games strictly on the basis of time used and patterns of time use; unannounced absences from play of more than 14 days are also grounds for immediate disqualification; no other factors will be considered.

Reporting Results

• The winning player reports the victory by posting to the tournament site the following. In  addition to reporting the fact of the victory, the following statistical  information is required. Please use the following format.
• ACTS Game Name:
• Carthaginian Player Name:
• Roman Player Name:
• AREA game of Hannibal:Rome vs. Carthage played before Y/N:
• Bid for Side, Winning Bid Amount, and Side Chosen:
• Winning Player:
• Rules Edition Used: (1st Edition or Valley Games 2nd Edition)
• Turn Game Ended:
• Game Winner and Method of Victory:
  • Resignation
  • Suit for Peace due to lack of PCs
  • Carthage controls all of Italy except Latium
  • Rome sacked
  • Carthage sacked
• # of Provinces controlled (Winner)
• # of Provinces controlled (Defeated)
• Turn Number on which the following occur:
  • Syracuse Joins Carthage
  • Syracuse sacked by Rome
  • Philip Joins Carthage
  • Philip Makes Peace with Rome
  • Death of Hannibal (and circumstances)
  • Death of Africanus (and circumstances)
  • Truce (whether as event or ops)
  • Messenger Intercepted by Rome
  • Messenger Intercepted by Carthage
• Optional Adjustments Used:
  • Messenger Intercepted Optional Adjustment Used (Y/N)
  • Syracuse Mandatory Event Optional Adjustment Used (Y/N)

Additionally, please append to your report any interesting information such as unusual card sequences, loss of major battles, particularly interesting plays, significant turning points etc.