Designer: Richard Borg Publisher: Hasbro In April 2000, a game that had made the convention rounds by the name of Commands and Colours finally hit the shelves of "specialty" hobby stores. It was Battle Cry: The Exciting Civil War Battlefield Game. Fortunately, it lives up to hype of its subtitle. Within the big box is an impressive pile of high-quality components including a full-colour mapboard and 116 plastic soldiers. The well-proportioned 20mm soldiers are detailed, resulting in a lot of plastic connections to be cut away (222 by my count). After freeing the pieces from their sprues, there are stickers for the dice and the flagpoles. Thus, pre-play preparation takes an hour or two with a hobby knife and nail clippers (and still some complain about DTPs!). Four types of figures are found in Battle Cry: infantry, cavalry, artillery, and leaders. Billy Yank and Johnny Reb have the same uniform and come in solid blue and gray. The figures contrast nicely with the dry summer palette of the hard-mounted map. The map is a hexgrid of clear terrain so nine types of cardboard overlay hexes are provided to recreate the terrain of 15 historical scenarios. The rules, an easy read because they were well written, were a bit disappointing because my impression was "is this all?" However, play showed me more. In Battle Cry, each unit occupies a hex (no stacking). Infantry units have four figures, cavalry three, and artillery two. In the scenarios, units represent regiments or brigades. Eliminating these units is how you win in Battle Cry, for the removal of a unit gives you a flag; six flags wins. Thus, victory conditions are based on casualties rather than terrain. However, terrain can't be ignored as it provides significant defensive benefits. The side that wins is almost always holding the middle ground at game end, having taken the battle to their opponent. The mechanics of play are simple yet retain sufficient detail. All units move one hex when activated, except cavalry and leaders, which move three. Infantry fire at a range of four, rolling four dice at range one and one less die each hex out. Artillery have range five, cavalry have a range of one but roll three dice and leaders add a die to the unit they're stacked with. Dice are rolled to obtain hits, and each hit showing up on the dice removes a figure from the target unit. Ranged fire works well; in some cases you will "snipe" at long range and in others you will rush forward to maximise your firepower. However, if the defender withstands your assault, a punishing volley is sure to follow. Retreat is also possible as a battle result and a key part of the game. The core of the game is the 60-card command deck. These cards allow you to activate your units. Depending on the historical ability of the overall commander in each scenario, hands of three to six cards are dealt out for each side. Each turn a player plays one card (and draws a replacement at the end of his turn). Typically, a card allows the player to activate one or more units in one of the three sections delineated on the board: left, centre, and right. For example, a left Probe card allows you to give orders to two units in that section. Units given orders may move then fire, except artillery, which may only move or fire. The card system neatly captures the flow of a civil war battle: players tend to play their cards on engaged units due the better fire opportunities at close range. Eventually activity on a flank will die down due to reduced units and/or expenditure of cards for that section. Then, the action erupts in another section of the battlefield and so the focus of the battle flows elsewhere. The section-specific cards dictate where the fighting will occur but there are enough general-use cards (about 30% of the deck) to give you flexibility to affect the course of battle. Use of the cards is not always obvious. Often, players will pause a minute to decide their best card play. Among the decisions to be made are whether to hoard cards for a big push, to shift leaders/units to other flanks, or to exploit a weakness in your opponent's position (but with insufficient cards). With the cards, Battle Cry gives the player interesting choices, which are a key ingredient of any good game. Of course, sometimes you will draw no cards in the section your opponent is attacking. The situation isn't hopeless, as units in the adjacent section are usually able to provide support. However, some players find this lack of cards frustrating, others rationalise it as simulating "command paralysis." As in a real battle, it may take time to organise a response to an attack. Card luck and dice luck are significant in Battle Cry, but are allowable in a game that requires only a short investment in time (about 45 minutes). It, however, is not devoid of strategy and good tactics. One of my earlier games was Murfreesboro, with me as the Confederates. I had on the right flank three units with a river in front of them, exposed to Union artillery. I decided that crossing the river would be a disaster and yet my initial hand of four cards contained with three right flank orders! I "ordered" the units on the right to cautiously shift their positions to the centre. Meanwhile the USA started an offensive on my left, pushing my troops near the board edge (retreat is brutal – you must exit via one of your two rear hexes, and being pushed off the board is total elimination). However, my next two draws were "left flank attack/assault" cards and my troops pounded the advancing Yankees back. Eventually an ill-advised USA advance led to Confederate victory. Hurrah! The history is highly abstracted, even the terrain which is customised in each scenario is only a simplified view. Most of the historical lessons are gleaned from the setup. For example, the Antietam scenario is a tough one for the Union. First, to simulate McClellan's command, they start with three cards in hand vs. five for the Confederates. Second, the setup at the Stone Bridge on the left flank is daunting for the Union. It will require some initiative to get across the bridge. Third, the approach to the Sunken Road in the center is devoid of cover (though I seem to recall the terrain as "rolling" during a visit to the battlefield). Play of Battle Cry won't give you deep insight into why a battle was won or lost. For that, you might try a few hours with a tactical rules set. What Battle Cry does do well is give a good feel for the ebb and flow of battle across a battlefield. You have troops sweeping back and forth across the battlefield. There are leaders galloping to and fro exhorting soldiers. The quick play in no small part contributes to this perception. Battle Cry is a pleasant surprise not just because it's an excellent game. It breaks the mold of luck-intense "plastic-piece boardgames" with its clever command card engine. Also, it is heartening to see the new Avalon Hill produce a game that appeals to grognards. I hope they make more. [CHV: This game is a remarkable introduction to figure gaming. By removing the concepts of odds ratios, using command cards to cover the chaos of warfare, and simple terrain and combat rules the game is readily accessible to many new gamers. It also provides an enjoyable game for veterans. You can add generously to the rules if you feel they are wrong without going into the second hour of play. The command cards are particularly effective in improving historicity (they do better than most "realistic" games). A really good piece of work.] Back to Perfidious Albion #101 Table of Contents Back to Perfidious Albion List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Charles and Teresa Vasey. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com