Read this if the game doesn't load.
Play Online Battle Cry
You know that moment when someone drops a stack of hexes and tiny wooden blocks on the table and you can almost hear distant cannon fire? That’s the vibe I get every time I pull out Battle Cry. It’s an Avalon Hill staple that’s somehow easy enough for a beginner to grasp in a few minutes yet offers just enough tactical wiggle room to keep a seasoned wargamer nodding along. You’ve got infantry, cavalry and artillery units, each represented by little blocks that you line up on the map to push your luck. The goal is simple—capture or eliminate enough enemy flag markers before your opponent does—and that keeps the tension high without burying you in rulebook footnotes.
What I love is how each turn feels like a decision point: do you press forward with your infantry line, risking a counterattack, or swing a cavalry flank and hope for the best? Combat is resolved with just a handful of dice, so you’re never waiting on pages of tables or reference guides. There are scenario cards for historic battles, but even if you ignore those and just set up a custom skirmish, you’ll find there’s plenty of personality in how the board shapes up. The neat little river hexes, the woodlands and the hills all add flavor, encouraging you to use the terrain rather than just charge head-on.
At under an hour for most plays, Battle Cry hits that sweet spot where you feel like you’ve really accomplished something without carving out half your Saturday. It’s social and chatty as you haggle over moves and cheer when your opponent’s line wobbles. Yet there’s also a faint itch of historical authenticity; the block system simulates fog of war in a way that feels thematic—units stay hidden until they spring into action, giving you those “aha!” moments when a well-hidden regiment suddenly tips the balance.
I always recommend it to friends who say they’re too intimidated by wargames. It’s a perfect gateway: your first few plays are mostly banter and dice-rolling, but as you go deeper you start spotting little strategic tricks—pinning units, forming tight lines, managing your reserves. Before you know it, you’re hooked on that satisfying snap of moving your last block into the enemy’s flag zone, and you’ll be planning your next rematch before the dice have even stopped clattering.