From: Roberto Chiavini Subject: Three new reviews Battle Cry (Avalon Hill/Hasbro) It's hard to make a review for a game that it's considered one of the better things happened in wargaming in the last few years. Most of the people frequenting this site have probably already played and enjoyed this neat, simple, introductory game, or have heard several praises about it on Consimworld or wherever. But, this game it's fun too be passed over by me, so here is my impression. The game it's similar in components to Axis & Allies and all the other old MB's games of the Eighties (Fortress America, Shogun, etc.). So you have more than 100 plastic blue & gray pieces, representing the various units you use in the game (infantry, cavalry, artillery and generals), a battle board made of thick cardboard, with nice graphics on it, several mega-hexes representing the various terrain features you may add for each of the 15 different scenarios that you get in the rulebook. The overall impression is very good, almost astonishing. The rulebook is very easy to read even for a novice wargamer and the game it's so easy that you may play even with a little child and have him having real fun pushing plastic soldiers and rolling dice. The system is simple, but it consents a few different strategies, thanks to the use of cards and specific battle dice. The board is divided in three parts and you have to play your cards (the number of cards for each player's hand depends on the scenario) to move units over the board. The activated units may move (1 hex for infantry and artillery, 3 for cavalry and generals) and have combat (nor the artillery, that may choose to move or have combat); combat is resolved rolling special dice, the number of them depending on the distance to the target and the kind of unit (cavalry may only fire in an adjacent hex, while artillery has a 5 hexes radius and infantry 4 hexes one). Each unit is composed by one flag unit plus 1-3 other unit of the same kind (1 for artillery, 2 for cavalry, 3 for infantry). For each hit you score (you have to roll the picture of your target with the combat dice) you eliminate one piece from the unit, up to the flag bearer (the last to fall). When you have eliminated 6 flag bearers you win the game. There are a few other features in the game (like retreat, line of sight - yes, there is also a LOS rule that works perfectly -, entrenchments) and, most of all, a very clever deck of cards that modifies a few of the rules (like forced march, sharpshooting against the enemy generals, all out assault, etc.), making the game a challenge even for grognards. Battle cry is in my opinion a real gem, a game to be played over and over, a perfect introduction to wargaming for players of all ages, probably not much of a simulation , but who cares! It's amazingly fun and we are playing a game, after all, so fun it's our primary concern, IMHO. I really hope that a game like this will be a real winner for our hobby and I hope that Hasbro will published in the future other games like this, to trying to re-launch wargaming in the heart of the younger generations, now too immersed in the Magic and Pokemon craze. I rate this game 9 out of 10.