PHALANX at UK Games Expo
almost 7 years ago – Wed, May 31, 2017 at 12:51:57 AM

Salve,

If you are visiting UK Games Expo this weekend, please, please visit us in Hall One at stand H2. There is a few things worth having a look at:

One

First ever reality show on board (that we are aware of). Trust us when we say so, but this is a beginning of a new trend! You may not be a fan of reality shows (we are not) but those are actually quite good games. Just the execution is flawed. So, here we go with a perfect solution. HUNGER - the first ever reality show in the gaming hobby!

Come and see for yourself. And have a shot at the Grand Prize. Starve your friends and win 1 MILLION game dollars! ;) Here are the rules of the contest: Come to our booth, win a game of HUNGER and get £20 coupon! You can use it in our store but let us remind you: we take only cash!

Two

We are bringing our last year’s Kickstarter production: Germania Magna to the UK for the first time. If you like a cut-throat co-opetition game, with lots of Roman and Germanic flavour, this one is for you. You may bring along friends, with whom you need a good excuse to break up. This game is quite abundant in negative interaction. Well, in fact there is no positive interaction at all. Those Germanic warlords were definitely not a bunch of nice fellows and if there was any etiquette they observed, it was reservoir vivre.

Check this one, if you like Hannibal & Hamilcar graphics. The artist behind both of them is the same person.

Three

Did we say we make wargames great again? Hell yeah! Come and see what’s coming next. And that’s a damn wunderwaffe game. Underwater cooperation war thriller? You can’t believe what you’ve just read? Huh. Check UBOOT.

Four

Of course we will bring also the HANNIBAL & HAMILCAR prototype. Not only the game, but also Kickstarter add-on prototypes: Giant Playing Mat, Premium Leader Pawns, Card Holders... So you can come, have a look at an early prototype, and have no doubts whatsoever why you should get this splendid game.

We are still on track with the production. Hexy Studio has finished the sculpts. Please take a look at Flaccus / Aurelius and Crassus / Aquillius miniatures. Thank you for reaching these stretch goals during the campaign!

Once again, a kind reminder:

Board Game Geek has decided to create a separate entry for HANNIBAL & HAMILCAR. While I am unsure this is the best way to go, as this puts to trash all my activity on the Hannibal forum, we have to live with this. So please save below link - please give the game a rating at some point. This would help it to get noticed as we need to crawl all the way from the bottom of the list. Thank you for your help!

Happy gaming!

Jaro & Phalanx

In a meantime
almost 7 years ago – Tue, May 23, 2017 at 12:58:55 AM

Hello Everyone,

We have been quiet for a while. And there were some reasons for it. This is what we have been working on in the background.

IMPORTANT: Pledge Manager

• In the next 2-3 weeks we will open the pledge manager. There you will be able to choose your add-ons and language edition. The same goes for shipping solution. Please do not send us messages with this information, we are unable to process it. This kind of choices are made in the pledge manager.
• Also, those who have missed the campaign will be able to make a late pledge in the pledge manager.
• Once the pledge manager is open, you will receive an email notification. There is also going to be a separate update too. You won't miss that! Easy.

In a meantime we have received Bomilcar’s sculpt from the Studio. This miniature was the final Carthage model, so the Punic miniatures are now complete. We are still waiting for the last two Roman sculpts.

When we receive the final sculpts, we will be able to print all the miniatures and make pre-production cast, for the final approval.

We have already sent the rulebook to our language partners for translation. The scenario book and playbook will follow. We are working on example images for the playbook and a solid player aid card text, based on the orderofgamers.com masterpiece (Thank you, Peter!). We are finishing the card layout, so this will be released for native proofreading and translation soon. Hannibal’s board needs only the final text layout after the native proofreading (thank you for your comments at BGG, they were really helpful!). Hamilcar’s board still needs some graphic changes, but we hope to receive them this week from our graphic designer.

What more shall we say? THANK YOU for your support during the campaign and so many late pledge requests. The campaign was only the beginning!

Michal

And now over to Jaro for his update on Hamilcar!

Salve!

Board Game Geek has decided to create a separate entry for HANNIBAL & HAMILCAR. While I am unsure this is the best way to go, as this puts to trash all my activity on the Hannibal forum, we have to live with this. So please save this link - subscribe to the new entry and please give the game a rating at some point. This would help it to get noticed as we need to crawl all the way from the bottom of the list. Thank you for your help!

Finishing touches are made to HAMILCAR and last week I played few turns with Eva. She played Carthage. And she played too good. Or maybe I was just lousy with the Romans?

Let me describe it in a few sentences.

In the first turn, Rome took control of Sicilia as Carthage was busy with getting support for war in the Miat. Fulvius wasn’t able to put down the Volsinii uprising and had to flee but soon with a help of small fleet he attempted landing on Corsica but Carthage intercepted the move.

In the second turn, Rome has decided to pass the initiative to Carthage. And Carthage knew how to use it. First, Hamilcar (the other Hamilcar, not Hannibal’s father Barca) brings in reinforcements from Africa and moves against Consul Duilius. Battle of Panormus is fought. Hamilcar plays Ambush and Bad Omen and delivers a knockout blow to the Romans. Their whole army and both Generals are slain.

Rome has only one weak army left and needs to reinforce it, so Carthage quickly establishes a foothold in Lucania, where Hannibal Gisco gets some local reinforcements.

Turn Three begins with sieges of Messana and Agrigentum. While Carthage is somewhat successful at Messana, Rome attempt fails, so Romans decide to change the strategy and try to win Naval Supremacy before any sieges are attempted. In a large naval battle near Lipara, and thanks to the Gods, Claudius Pulcher defeats Carthaginian navy! Rome province count was 7, Carthage’s only 5.

Turn Four sees arrival of Atilius Regulus and with the best of Roman Generals on board and a long, 9 card hand, everything is set for a decisive game turn. And apparently it is.

Regulus, utilizing Naval Supremacy finally takes Agrigentum! Unfortunately, Aquilius at a head of a small reinforcing army, is intercepted near Panormus and defeated in an epic naval battle, which results in Naval Supremacy change and loss of 2PC. The remnant of the fleet faces the Cruel Sea and sinks. Roman Seamanship is reduced to Fair. Further Regulus attempt to relieve Messana is stopped by a Bad Weather. Have the Gods turned against the Romans?

In a Major Campaign, Carthage retakes Agrigentum, and in the next play makes a bid for Mare Nostrum and victorious Hamilcar sails into Panormus, which costs Rome another 3PC. Regulus now intercepts Hamilcar but loses the battle, most of the army and another 2PC!

Rome is now in dire straits. At the end of turn, Carthage controls 7 provinces versus 3 controlled by Rome, which means further 4PC must be removed. Rome is almost on the ropes…

To be continued? I don’t think so ;)

Happy gaming!

Jaro

The End or just a beginning
almost 7 years ago – Sat, May 13, 2017 at 11:39:15 PM

Dear Friends and Customers,

3,513 of you pledged Hannibal & Hamilcar with jaw-dropping £263,313.

Thank you for your tremendous support. This is a legendary game from a legendary designer, so we hoped for a good result. But this has exceeded our wildest dreams. Thank you!

Kudos for reaching the final stretch goal! With your help we will be able to invite and host Mark Simonitch at Essen Spiel 2017 Fair. We are very glad, really.

This would be our collective way to say “thank you” to Mark after all those 20 years we have enjoyed Hannibal.

The Hotel is booked. Let’s get the plane tix sorted too.

 Mark seems to be quite excited too.

Now the weekend. We can get some rest and sleep. Officially we are closed until Monday but we can’t really promise we won’t visit this page. The excitement is too high to handle.

Next week we will start with presenting a draft production and delivery plan. In the meantime, we will be setting up the pledge manager - we will use www.backerkit.com. There you will be able to manage your pledges, purchase any extra add-ons you may want, enter your delivery addresses, choose language editions, etc. It should be live for 2-4 weeks after the campaign end, we just need to make the final quotes for shipping, based on the number of backers from each country.

This is not an end for us. Rather a half-time in a very important game. We have more great games in our pipeline. You may also like the next one. But that is going to take a while.

Thank you Alberto, Olivier, and Frank. You are an important part of this campaign and your effort had a great impact on the final result. Thank you Jeremy and Russ for keeping our words precise and correct.

Last but not least, thank you Mark, for helping us to our dreams become more and more real.

Thank you Everyone for making our dreams come true!

Jaro, Michał, Waldek & PHALANX Team

In the meantime, let us present our next project. An underwater, cooperative war thriller.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the crew of:

Uboot

UBOOT: The Board Game is a fully cooperative, real-time tabletop game of WW2 submarine warfare. It allows 1 to 4 players to assume the roles of Captain, First Officer, Navigator, and Chief Engineer on board a VIIC U-boat. The game is enhanced by a companion app, allowing for an unprecedented level of realism, as well as a challenging enemy A.I. that will push your skills to the limit. The action unfolds both on the strategic and the tactical scale, always demanding teamwork, efficient crew management, and quick situation assessment.

Each of the four roles entails unique responsibilities, encouraging the players to develop an efficient communication scheme and use genuine navy terminology. The Captain oversees the completion of mission objectives, supervises action point costs, and is responsible for the crew's morale. The First Officer operates the companion app, manages the flow of information, and takes care of the crew's health. The Navigator steers the submarine by setting its course and depth, and updates all the essential information on the strategic and the tactical map. Last, but not least, is the Chief Engineer, who is responsible for the engines, repairs, as well as other mechanical implements on board the U-boat (such as the ballast tanks, weapon systems, etc.). At the same time, each of the four officers commands his own group of crew members by issuing orders within a worker placement system.

The idea behind the companion app is to deliver a real-time, realistic gameplay experience. To that end, the app features the most essential instruments of the U-boat (such as the periscope, the hydrophone, and the Enigma, among others). Rest assured, however, that the vast majority of gameplay traditionally takes place on the game board, with the instruments revealing otherwise hidden information, and the app requiring only certain data (such as the U-boat's course, speed, etc.) in order to generate an adequate A.I. response of the enemy force. It is also responsible for all the ambient sound effects, thus immersing the players even deeper into the claustrophobic interiors of the type VIIC. But fear not! With open-and-play being a design priority, you will be launching torpedoes in no time, thanks to streamlined rules, video tutorials, and variable difficulty levels for each player.

From quick skirmishes, through full combat missions, to an all-out campaign, UBOOT: TBG will let you conduct submarine operations in all major naval theatres of the Second World War. The success of these missions hinges on the completion of various tasks delegated to the crew by the Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine (German Navy HQ), which include patrol duty, ambushing convoys, laying mines in enemy waters, and many more! Each mission will require the players to adopt various strategies and playstyles in order to successfully complete it, and the companion app will generate a detailed report at the end of each game session (evaluating player efforts, and possibly awarding decorations, promotions, etc.). That is, if the U-boat makes it back home...

The stage is set and the crew is awaiting your orders. Do you have what it takes to command the Kriegsmarine's finest? Hunt or be hunted, as you brave the stormy seas of the greatest conflict in history!

We plan to demo the Uboot game at UK Games Expo. Booth H2. Please visit us there to try the game and say hello!

Son of Hannibal
almost 7 years ago – Fri, May 12, 2017 at 12:55:10 AM

Salve,

This campaign is almost over but before the lights go out there is one more thing to post. So just let me make a remark, that what you’d see below is still ‘work in progress’ - some issues were not yet solved, some art requires attention, we need to reword a few things, we need proper community feedback, the files need proofreading etc, etc.

All in all, nothing really that we are excited to share but I think we need to give the last proof, that the game exists, that it is not just a new scenario, that it plays differently, has new mechanics and that the Hamilcar is a proud son of Hannibal. And don’t be fooled this should be other way around ;)

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, please meet Hamilcar. A fruit of sleepless nights and early mornings. 

 

Cheers and Happy Gaming!

Jaro

New miniature renders

Please take a look at Rufus and Adherbal - new Stretch Goal miniature renders. Your generous support brought them to life - thank you!

Martin Wallace’s favorite game

Do you remember our request for endorsements? So we have a new one - Martin Wallace talks about his favourite game!

878 Vikings

Two days before our campaign started, a very successful project has ended. Uwe Eickert from Academy Games has prepared a short introduction for you.

878 Vikings - Invasions of England just ended a very successful Kickstarter, unlocking over 39 stretch goals, including 9 expansions. The game includes over 130 x 15mm miniatures, plays with 2-4 players and is a lot of fun. You can still pre-order 878 Vikings this week and you will receive ALL stretch goals and KS exclusive items. I highly recommend all of the games in this series and think that you will really like this game.

Thank you!

PHALANX Team

I would like to thank everybody...
almost 7 years ago – Wed, May 10, 2017 at 10:26:15 PM

Salve,

Let’s start with a personal note from Mark. Some of you were interested if he was actually involved in the project. I think the below is a nice summary in Mark’s own words.

Below you will find a recap of the Stretch Goals funded over last days. We are really low on fuel here and summaries are getting shorter and shorter with each sleepless night, so we hope you bear with us. The time to present the new features will come after the campaign, so now just a quick summary explaining what goodies you’ve added to the box.

If you scroll a bit more, you will find some gorgeous pictures of gorgeous game. Guess the name of the game.

Last but not least. Let’s dream big and break the very last two goals of this campaign. One is a very practical insert to keep your minis organized. The other is totally impractical idea of bringing Mr Simonitch across the pond so those, who are coming to Essen can get their H&H copy signed and maybe a selfie with our star designer? ;)

There is yet a kind request in the bottom. I am not sure you know, Phalanx has been a co-publisher of Martin Wallace’s digital edition of Brass. And the game is now ready to be published to Steam. There is link to a price drop on that game, so please read to the end.

Thank you,

Jaro

Stretch Goals

Elephant Fright is card which is used in Hamilcar and may be used in Hannibal to replace the original card with the same heading. This is a card which was first planned by Mark for Hannibal II. The game has never been published, so we nicked the card from there.

Ambush was inspired by Battle of Trebbia (Mago’s detachment) and Battle of Panormus (Caecilius Megellus has set up a trap for Carthaginian elephants). It allows to be a bit more adventurous with low rated Generals.

Surprise Raid allows to remove two enemy PC adjacent to one’s General. If played right, this could be a very strong card.

Marcus Minucius Rufus was an aggressive Roman commander, who was able to surprise Hannibal himself. Hamilcar’s Fulvius represents a host of quite courageous but not very lucky leaders from Fulvius, Sulpicius, Aemilius and Sempronius families who have lost their fleets in storms.

Deception & Surprise was inspired by Hannibal’s battle trick - sending a herd of cows onto enemy lines to cover a withdrawal.

Sacred Band can be played as a Reserve Card by highest ranking Carthaginian General on board.

Imperium: Iberia - this is Roman specific Minor Campaign card for operations in Iberian Peninsula.

Massinissa can be played as a Flank Card if a player controls Numidia.

Revolt in Baetica is yet another revolt card, representing local uprisings in Iberia.

Manpower Shortage is inspired by real events, when many Latin Allies refused to send in their alae to help Rome fighting the war.

Bomilcar was a Carthaginian naval commander in the Second Punic War. He may be handy for quick naval moves of small forces in late part of the game. Himilco is helpful when in command of besieged fortress, as he may remove a Siege Point upon activation.

Hannibal’s Flaccus is efficient in Subjugations (rolls 2 dies) and Hamilcar’s Aurelius in seaborne operations (gets 2 extra card if moving into a battle by sea).

Getting Crassus and Aquilius as a Consul will often mean concentrating more on defense. These two Generals are reluctant to move and not very efficient in combat unless defending.

Final Goals of the campaign

If we can nail £210k, this would allow us to present each of Roman Consuls on a separate card. Apart from looking great this will also help selecting them through a dealing, rather than drawing a chit.

Reaching £220k means we are throwing in additional 10 fleet counters - making marking fleet size and status easier.

If the campaign brings over £235k, we will produce a special miniature holding trays.

And if we can reach £250k? Well… then...

Photos

A Humble request

We have a request for you.

As many of you already know, Brass is not only a board game; it is also a well received mobile app. Published in 2015 by PHALANX and CUBLO, the Brass App received a warm welcome, with 5/5 rating from Pocket Tactics. Now we are waiting for the Steam Greenlight - could you please click here and help us to get there? And if you want to play the mobile Brass, this is a nice moment to get the game, as we have a price drop running for the next two days.

Thank you for your generous support!

PHALANX Team