Slitherine

Hannibal breaks the siege of Rhegium and returns to Latium to protect the siege of Rome.

The Romans then besiege Rhegium again.

Last turn is repeated

I now have a combat bonus if I assault Rome. Which I do with 30 units versus 4 defenders. Rome lasts for 3 turns before the city is taken and victory is mine.

Well playing at Hard was probably the most difficult game, unsurprisingly. It certainly took longer to capture Rome. The pivotal moment for my plans to come to fruition was when I was able to crush the Roman navy in the mid-game. The indirect result was that the Roman recruiting focussed on rebuilding their navy not their land forces. So I was able to get numerical superiority on land. Two other things I'd like to mention is the gamey ploy of besieging leaderless cities with only one unit and a leader, if you are patient enough it pays off. And also once the AI decides that they can't attack Hannibal in a pitched battle, they almost become as vulnerable again when they start to lay siege to cities, as Hannibal can easily break the sieges, gain bonus cards and possibly get into a pitched battle.

Well I guess I better upload the lastest patches and see how the AI behaves with those