Romans vs Macedonians - HATG Play Test Game

Last Sunday four of us went over to my uncle's house to play a game of Hannibal at the Gates. This game was Romans versus Macedonians. We wanted to test out how the new battle line rules effected the hoplite and pike durability compared to Roman legions.

I had a very lucky night and opposite me, my friend Don took it well. It seems all the rolls I didn't get in our campaign battle finally decided to show up.

As for the game. Don and Charlie, below left lined up their three pike/hoplite wings in the center and rolled forward with cavalry on their flanks. Bob and I demonstrated against two of their core wings while Bob focused on their cataphract cavalry and I focused on the left most infantry and cavalry. We lost ground in the center badly, but by the time we were pressed firmly against our baseline, the Macedonian formations we focused on were dead.

The new battle line rules make core units able to use it strong. They make pike and hoplite units, with their extra numbers, particularly tough. A Roman army, using its flexibility still has a fair chance, but 1 on 1 the hoplite and pike wings are stronger than a single legion. We're going to fight a couple more test games to get more data on this...which is OK by me because they're great fun.