From: "Paul O'Connor" Subject: Re: Battle Cry Jim Mason wrote: > Can anyone comment on the American Heritage/Milton Bradley Civil War > game called "Battle Cry"? I bought a copy in a net auction for my son. I had this game when I was a kid, and held fond memories of it. > How long to play, is there strategy involved, what the game is like, > etc. You can knock it off in an hour or less. It's really a generic battle game with Civil War trappings. The game is played on a grid map superimposed over a map of the U.S. (I think it goes out to Texas). Rail lines and mountains play a role in the game; otherwise it could just be a blank grid. I do remember picking up a bit of U.S. geography playing this game, specifically in terms of which states succeeded from the Union. Each side has an identical muster of pieces. There is no production. There are infantry, cavalry, and artillery pieces, all represented by little plastic figures. On your turn, you roll the dice and move your guys. There is some strategy involved in that you have to decide what to move, and each piece moves differently (I think -- could be wrong there). Combat is a matter of lining your guys up in columns and jumping over the other guy. There are couple rules that encourage you to have combined arms in an attack, but it's pretty abstract and doesn't have much to do with ACW combat. As a game for kids and parents, it's not bad. It offers enough decision points to hold the adult's attention, and there's enough luck involved (given that the number of moves you can make depends on the dice) than a kid can whack his dad. The theme is there in the background, maybe leading to an interest in the ACW, and the little toy figures might stimulate an interest in miniatures. I got my copy for $25.00, and for that felt adequately rewarded with a nostalgia buzz. If my kid shows interest when he's older, then so much the better. For what it's worth, my favorite game in the old American Heritage series was Broadsides, a slick little naval game set during the War of 1812. British ships brave the fire of coastal guns to battle American ships trying to guard merchant shipping. Damage is shown by removing masts from the little ships. There is a modicum of strategy involved as you try to cross the enemy's "T" ... I had a lot of fun with that one. Less so with Hit the Beach and Dogfight ... From: Steve Keifer Subject: Re: Battle Cry At 11:43 AM 6/15/99 -0400, you wrote: >I don't remember a lot about the mechanics of Battle Cry, just that my >older brother used to beat me all the time. Wasn't it released under >several different names? 1863? It was neat. You lined up your little infantry and cavalry guys next to a line of enemy units. If you had more guys in the line your tail-end Charlie "jumped" the enemy line (like in checkers) and you captured the enemy pieces. Except if you had an artillery unit in the last place position. The enemy pieces were captured without a "jump". This was preferred becasue usually your "jumper" gort captured next. But artillery pieces were rare. I found my old copy at my mom's house a few years back. It was given to me in 1960 when I was eight years old. My first wargame. Only a little water damage to the map and all the pieces are still there - after 39 years! I'll play it someday with my son, David, who is now 4.5 months old. --------------------- Steve Keifer skeifer@enteract.com Wheaton, IL Eudora Light 3.0.6 Last 3 Board Games Played: GD 1941 (Gamers), Twilight's Last Gleaming, Glory (Chickamauga)