Battle Cry is a new game using an old name - it has
nothing to do with the ~1960 Milton Bradley/American Heritage title
of the same name. It is a game about the American Civil War and uses
plastic miniature soldiers, but otherwise is completely different -
and much better!
The game is fairly simple as wargames go, yet deep enough to create
enjoyable play. Some of the rules may be a bit simplistic, but house
rules are easy enough to implement, so don't hold back on that account
- give this game a try.
Components
The game comes in a large box, alas - I say "alas" because I own a lot
of games and shelf space is tight. But the components are spiffy: 116
plastic soldiers, in four distinct types: Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery,
and Generals. There is one board with blank hexes, and 46 hexes of
terrain to place on the board, plus 6 fieldwork counters. There are
eight dice with special stickers, 60 command cards, and a rulebook with
15 scenarios after the rules.
The scenarios tell you how to set up the board and pieces and hand size
for various battles in the Civil War. You can find more scenarios on
the web, written by fans of the game, if you're interested.
Sequence of Play
Each turn you play a command card, activate a number of units somewhere
on the board as dictated by the command card, move and/or battle with
those units, then draw a replacement card. Let's look at these
elements one at a time.
Command Cards
Draw a command card: there are 60 command cards, 43 of which are Order
Cards. The board is divided by lines into three fronts: left flank,
center, and right flank. Most of the Order cards will let you activate
a number of units on a given front. For example, you may play a
"Skirmish" card which lets you activate any unit on your left
flank, or a "Probe" card which lets you activate any two units
in your center, and so on. A few of the Order cards let you activate
units from multiple fronts at once.
The remaining 17 cards are Special Order Cards. There are 11 different
types of Special Order Cards, which allow you to do various things:
activate all Artillery, moving or firing them twice, for example, or
Force March your Infantry in any one section. Some cards are more
powerful than others, so there is some "luck of the draw" in the game.
I'd rather have a "Hit & Run" card than a "Sharpshooter"
card, for example, as the latter only gives you a one sixth chance to
kill an enemy General, while the former allows you to move all your
Cavalry twice, with an attack in between!
The cards nonetheless make the game interesting, and hand size is
determined by the quality of the actual generals present in the
historical battles. Thus early in the war on the eastern front, the
Union player often finds himself with more units than his opponent but
a smaller hand size.
Unit Activation
So you play one card from your hand, and if it allows you to activate
units (as 90% of the cards do), you select the units to be activated,
and may move them, one by one. A unit, by the way, includes a number of
plastic figures: four for Infantry, three for Cavalry, two for Artillery,
and one for a General. This determines how many hits a unit can take.
One piece in each unit is carrying a flag - this is always the last piece
removed as the unit takes casualties. Capturing six of your opponent's
flags wins you the game.
Infantry and Artillery may move one space when activated; Cavalry and
Generals may move three spaces. Any unit that was activated may then
battle. Cavalry need to be adjacent to an enemy to battle, but
Infantry and Artillery may fire from a distance, at reduced power. A
General can't battle alone, but gives a +1 die bonus to an attached
unit. An attached General may be moved with its unit, or may be moved
separately to join a different unit.
Battle
Battle is resolved with special dice. Each die has six stickers: two
showing Infantry and one each showing Cavalry, Artillery, Retreat, and
Crossed Sabers. You roll a number of dice based on unit type and distance
to the target unit - the strength of the firing unit has nothing to do
with how many dice to roll. (We tried a house rule: if only the flag
piece is left, reduce the number of dice rolled by one. It just seemed
to make sense. But after just a couple of games, we realized this was
unnecessary, and dropped it. Attacking with a one-flag unit carries its
own penalty: if you leave it at the front, it's a quick victory point
for the enemy ... no, the game is very well thought out. It was years
in the playtesting, and it shows: it's solid.)
Damage is determined by how many dice match the target type: for each
face showing the same type of unit as the target unit, the target unit
loses one figure. A Crossed Sabers is a wild card, damaging any unit
regardless of type (and is the only way to kill a General). The
Retreat face means the unit must retreat after taking casualties.
Terrain
Terrain affects the game in varying ways: Woods, Buildings, and Waterways
require you to stop when you enter them, for example, while Buildings and
Field Works grant a -2 to the number of attacking dice used against you.
Many types of terrain block line of sight, others grant a -1 battle bonus,
while others are just obstacles.
Why Wouldn't You Like This Game?
First, it's a game, not a simulation. Hard-core wargamers will be
offended by some of the rules - they don't necessarily reflect reality.
They make for a good game, but often not a realistic recreation of an
actual battle. This is fine with me, but may not be with you.
Next, there's a fair bit of luck. We had one game where both the dice and
the cards were against my opponent. Whenever I fired, I hit an amazing
percentage of the time. He couldn't hit the proverbial barn. He never
got Left Flank cards the whole game - I marched right up, blasted away at
him turn after turn, and he could never fire back! So yes, an occasional
game can be spoiled by one-sided luck, but this is both rare and true for
most games that have a luck element. Still, Battle Cry
has potential for lots of this, as there are both cards and dice to
consider, and this may not be to your taste.
Finally, you have to have patience to play this game the way it
deserves to be played. The temptation, when you get the right card, to
rush a troop ahead to blast away is high. However, it's suicidal: you
really have to take your time and develop a whole section, at least,
before engaging the enemy too closely. Infantry move slowly, as do
Artillery. Patience. My temperament in wargaming is not, by nature,
patient. I love lots of movement in wargaming - wheeling around flanks
to strike from an unexpected direction is great fun; slow plodding is
foreign to me. So I have to curb my basic tendencies when playing this
game, and sometimes I get frustrated. Overall I still enjoy it, mind
you, but every now and then I wish I could have a Force March
or Hit & Run card permanently in my hand, and lots of Cavalry
with lots of figures ... Even so, I still love this game and will
continue to play it. This may not even be a flaw to you, and it's only
a minor one to me.
FAQ, Errata, and Summing Up
The rules are pretty clear, though there have been some questions
raised. These and a few minor errata can be found at Web Grognards, which will always
have the latest FAQ and errata file. (The designer is very
diligent about answering questions!) You can also find
house rules and alternate scenarios at that site. And John Foley's Battle Cry Resources
Page is an attempt to gather all the Battle Cry web
refrences together - good luck, John!
The game is fairly easy to learn, but has enough differences in terrain
and scenarios to give good replay value. While the game isn't aimed at
the hardcore wargamer, those of us who enjoy an occasional wargame will be
thoroughly entertained by it. As a bonus, it's a great way to introduce
younger players to the wargaming hobby. It feels relatively authentic,
rewards good tactical thinking, and is fun to play.
Recommended.
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