Is the new Battle Cry game a reprint or a re-envisioning of the game?
The 150th Civil War Anniversary Edition of Battle Cry is so much more than a reprint.
First off let me say the game looks AMAZING! New Box cover artwork and the back of the box is dominated by a large image of a game in progress. It also lists the game contents and all the battles that are included.
The new images for the battlefield game board and the terrain tiles work seamlessly together for outstanding visual appeal.
Note to help players track victory, the new game board has opposition flags printed on a player's side of the board. When the flag bearer (last piece) in the opponent's unit is eliminated, place the piece with the flag on an empty flag space. The game board is also set up so two boards can be set side by side to form a 26 hex by 9 hex epic size battlefield for future BIG Battle Cry double-wide battle scenarios.
The new Terrain Summary Sheet details how all the terrain features will affect game play, including new rules for Woods, Homestead and Entrenchment tokens.
The entire Command card deck has been redesigned and the card quality is outstanding. In addition, the text on some Command cards has been updated, for example:
The All Out Offensive card is gone. It is replaced by a Battle Cry card - Roll 1 die for each card you have, unit symbols rolled order units to move and battle with 1 additional die.
Rally takes place across the entire battlefield - Roll 1 die for each card you have, unit symbols rolled rally figures back to under strength units, which may battle but not move.
A Scout card allows a player to draw 2 cards, select one and discard the other.
Assault cards only order units equal to the number of cards you have.
Fight Back is a new card, that allows a unit to fight back after being attacked.
The rule booklet contains 16 pages of very well illustrated rules and also presents 30 ACW battle scenarios. Most of the Classic battles have be updated work well with all the rule updates.
The Battle Dice are custom made for the game.
The figures are all new, but size wise will scale very well with the figures if you own a copy of Classic Battle Cry. The Artillery unit is now made up of 3 figures and a General when attached to a unit will allow the unit to ignore a flag and also allow the unit to take ground after a successful battle against an adjacent enemy unit.
There are lots of other minor rule updates that increase playability, while still foster the historical, a unit that is forced to retreat when on its baseline is not eliminated, instead 1 figure is removed for each retreat hex it cannot complete.
But the best is yet to come, in that Wizards/AH/Hasbro plans to support the 150th Anniversary Edition of Battle Cry with future expansions and battle scenarios.
That is of course if the initial release meets sales projections ;-)
Have Fun!
Richard Borg