Game: Battle-Cry

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race9 — 2008-04-02T05:38:41+00:00

Inside the box

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race9 — 2008-04-02T05:36:47+00:00

Cover and Board

Thread: The Strategy of Battle-Cry

Trelane — 2007-10-17T20:33:10+00:00

This Civil War game of evenly matched armies should have balance. The fact is that it is slightly tilted in favor of the army who controls the railroads and in particular the junction at Louisville, Kentucky. This junction is the key between east and west movement and is the main avenue for the South to invade the North in a flanking attack. The proximity of the set of mountains near the junction in Tennessee helps the South because their armies can sit on them without fear of attack due to the requirement of an artillery unit to knock them off. They are closer to the junction and therefore can counterattack any movement of Northern troops attempting to come down to capture Louisville. It is best to keep your units in separate aisles, spaced apart to discourage an attack but they should be able to group together on an average roll of "7" in line to take an invading enemy. Also, Infantry move best by rail, therefore Infantry should be on the "dots". Even the far southern Infantry from Texas should be brought up on "spare" dice counts to get to the rails. It will take several turns but you can bring it into action along with the Louisiana Calvary and Artillery. If Louisville is maintained in control by the South they should on average die rolls be able to defeat the Western portion of Northern forces and then use the rails as an invasion point into Western Pennsylvania. The flank attack will weaken the North enough to mass the Eastern half of the army up through Maryland, Delaware, to Pennsylvania and corner the rest of the Northern army in the area of New York. With average die rolls, a Southern player can win handily.

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GreatAtuin — 2007-08-28T20:06:19+00:00

Artwork on Board - Cannon

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familywontplay — 2007-07-10T20:32:42+00:00

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familywontplay — 2007-07-10T20:31:56+00:00

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familywontplay — 2007-07-10T20:31:11+00:00

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familywontplay — 2007-07-10T20:30:20+00:00

Thread: Re: Session Report

jeremiahj — 2007-06-05T20:32:07+00:00

Wait who were you?

Thread: Re: It makes sense, kind of.....

GROGnads — 2007-05-05T16:40:12+00:00

...mostly...yeah, "Dice Hatahs" won't like this at ALL, and the 'sentiment' is reciprocated! I too had this and the others of its kinds when growing up, while mine were the BIG 'boxed' versions!

Thread: It makes sense, kind of.....

GreatAtuin — 2007-05-05T15:36:47+00:00

This is the the wargame that got me hooked. I never played Axis and Allies or Risk when I was younger - just this. I read the excellent history booklet that came with the game and never failed to get an A on any test on the Civil War.

Components: The pieces are plastic, blue for the North and grey for the South (uh, I guess that was obvious). There are three unit types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. There is no difference in strength of units from the North or South, a cannon is worth the same for both armies, etc. The board is sturdy, with easily understood graphics - the map isn't a great work of art. It seems to be designed for each of reading, which was succesful. There are some small pictures around the map which add a good "feel" to the board.

Gameplay: The gameplay isn't a simulation of actual Civil War combat, but is challenging and requires careful planning. Combat takes place between groups of pieces in long, single file lines facing each other. (Columns, not rows) The combat strength of each line is added up, the higher number wins - taking the last piece in line and "jumping" over the opposing line and removing the losing units from the board. (except for the cannon, it doesn't jump) Movement is by dice, but can be accelerated by using railroad connections. Poor rolling is much more damaging than an opponent who rolls well.

The game starts with fixed starting positions for all the units. This requires players to work to concentrate their forces. While this game is not a simulation of Civil War tactics or strategy, the effort to form the combat formations required by the game's mechanic does give a nice feel for the coordination required for combat between large armies. So the combat system does makes sense, kind of.....

Overall: This is a light wargame. With all the good and bad things that go along with that. No replacement/reinforcements mean that the game can be quick. This is especially important if you can't roll very well for movement. While I love this game and think that the mechanics do provide a fun challenge, most wargamers will be frustrated by the odd system. Dice haters will hate the dice-based movement since it does greatly effect the gameplay - mostly if you roll poorly.

Thread: Imperious Leaders Revised rules for Battlecry

Imperious leader — 2007-05-05T00:53:50+00:00

Requirements:
I suggest you pick up 2 complete sets of pieces because my varient uses a build system.

You will also need 4 Generals ( use civil war miniatures)

http://www.warrioronline.demon.co.uk/15mm/15acw.htm

Also a small quantity of naval units representing gunboats and ironclands:
the following are in perfect scale:

http://www.panzerschiffe.com/Warships_from_the_American_Civi...

The game is very fun but the combat system is totally bankrupt. I have installed an Axis and Allies style system and it works much better. The game is very fun for four players and the naval adds alot of missing ideas from this timeless classic.

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shaveandahaircut — 2006-08-24T20:53:14+00:00

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jamesmattbob — 2006-07-20T14:06:05+00:00

Milton Bradley's 1961 version of Battle Cry!

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jamesmattbob — 2006-07-11T01:52:38+00:00

Thread: Re:Session Report

scribidinus — 2004-09-14T15:13:09+00:00

Zandari (#54289),

This is refreshing. I hadn't played the American Heritage game by this name in 35 years or so. For some reason it pleases me that people still get this out.

Thread: Session Report

Zandari — 2004-09-14T03:38:16+00:00

We broke this out again last night for the third time. I was having a terrible time in the west after Timothy managed to roll a 10 as I was still trying to gather forces for a push into Tennessee. He took out two infantry, two cavalry, and one artillery, leaving the rest of my western forces in disarray. I had a little better luck in the east, but I could never pull together a roll that would let me move through the Shenandoah as a group. Once again, Timothy was able to pick up a high roll and bring in troops via rail to crush me. In the end, I only managed to take out half of the rebel dogs before conceding.