Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. ...

General Resources

Official FAQ and Resources The following links directly support the game as published.
Grognard.com's Battle Cry listing This is the direct link to the up to date listings.
Official FAQ and Errata maintained by Walt Mulder at the Gaming Dumpster. This is the primary resource for this information. The answers and interpretations are reviewed and approved by Richard Borg. Also available at grognard.com in DOC format.
Corrected Battlefield Map: Fredericksburg by Rod Lilley.
Corrected Battlefield Map: Gaines Mill by Rod Lilley.
Official Variant for Scenario 11 per Richard Borg. This modification allows for a more historical defense of Little Round Top.

Playing Aids Here are useful aids for playing the game.
NEW! Movement Trays created by Rick Barber to make play easier. He provides the following information: My patented Battle Cry movement trays, all ready to print out, cut out and put to use. Actually, my file is the master art; you folks will probably want to take that to your local copying place and actually print them on, say, parchment cover stock, which you can get in almost the same color as the map surface. Two copies gives you enough for both armies in the standard game, and also includes 6 figure infantry stands for those who want to try out my rules that way.
Union Reference Card   Confederate Reference Card These two marvelous reference cards were created by Bill and Mark Underwood. Note that one variant rule has been inserted, permitting Infantry to move two hexes but not shoot. This is not official, but a rule like this is commonly mentioned by players. [ If you would like a higher resolution version (BMP) of these cards, please contact Mark Underwood at nospammarkau@uswest.net (remove the nospam before sending). ]
Battle Cry Reference Card by Greg Nichols. This fine resource is at the Graduate Library Gamers (University of Michigan) web site in PDF format to assist game play.
Reference Sheet for Terrain and Units by Michael Fitzgerald. This Quick Reference Sheet is at the Gaming Dumpster in Excel format (XLS) to assist game play.
Line of Sight Chart by Andrew Swan. Use this chart to figure out whether a unit can "see" an enemy unit.
Confederate Reference Card in German   Union Reference Card in German These has been provided by Andreas Koslitz.
Special Order Cards in French A translation of the special order cards has been provided by Jean-Philippe Neuder. The page size is set for A4-size paper.
Reference Card in French A translation of a reference card has been provided by Jean-Philippe Neuder. The page size is set for A4-size paper. Please note that non-standard movement options for Horse-Artillery have been included.
Special Order Cards in Spanish A translation of the special order cards has been provided by Jordi Roca. The page size is set for A4-size paper.

Variant Rules and Game Components This game plays great exactly as produced but it is also designed to encourage players to tinker with it.
NEW! High Ground 1 and High Ground 2. New tiles for your game play by artist Rick Barber (also known as El Carto! He provides the following information: These will allow you to spray mount onto heavy board and cut out, a nd handle elevations and slopes a bit less generically that in the basic game. I'm suggesting that you simply glue them onto the existing Hill terrain tiles, as I've already started doing with mine (to paraphrase a certain book, those basic BC hills look like an indisposed dragon flew over and had a series of disappointing bowel movements!). Also, you can make additional copies and have the exact multi-hex pieces that you need for my Barlow scenario (A25).
Battle Flags by Brady Severns. Here is a small subset of the printable regimental, army and leader flags created by Brady that you may use to customize your game.
Random Battle Generator by Ben Knight. Now you can generate terrain for quick-playing challenge scenarios and even for new campaign settings. This is a ZIP file containing a README.TXT and the generator itself in XLS format.
Painting BC Figures by Dan Becker. Not only do you get very helpful hints for painting, but also some sound advice about protecting your figures.
Painting BC Figures (2) by Brady Severns, hosted by Dan Becker. More great information on painting and protecting your figures.
Painting Figures (3) by Scott Brooks, hosted by Dan Becker. Even more great information on painting and protecting your figures.
Battle Cry in 28mm Miniatures by George Carsong. This is a beautiful presentation of fully painted miniatures and terrain pieces on a large playing surface.
House Rules developed and maintained by Walt Mulder at the Gaming Dumpster. There are a lot of very enjoyable ideas at this site to assist you with ideas about modifying the basic game. Also available at grognard.com in DOC format.
Alternate Terrain Tiles created by Rod Lilley. These tiles are needed to create some of the scenarios by other authors.
Blank Battlefield Maps created by Rod Lilley. Use these to create your own scenarios.
Alternate Terrain Tiles #1 created by Walt Mulder. The usage and definition of these tiles is explained in the House Rules.
Alternate Terrain Tiles #2 created by Walt Mulder. More fun for you and me!
Alternate Terrain Tiles #3 created by Walt Mulder. Here are the clear terrain tiles you can use to extend your game board!
Variant Rules by Lou Wainright; designed to "flatten the card power distribution."
Variant Rules by Todd Klemme; provides a very simple to manage semi-simultaneous movement system.
Variant Rules by lee70@deja.com; describes a method of splitting the command deck into two equal decks for each side plus a special order deck for both sides to use. This is a significant variant.
Variant Rules by Mark Montreuil; defines a very simple but effective method for handling four players.
Various Variant Rules by various contributors; much rehash of typical house rules above, but one interesting variant is called Infantry Marching. Another variant covers rules for Rifled Artillery (which looks like it could be a useful tool for scenario designers).
Tournament Ideas by various contributors.

Major Variant Game Designs Some enthusiasts have pushed beyond merely tinkering with the rules, designing major variants to the rules as published.
Fantasy Battle Cry by Tom Scutt (posted directly by permission). Now you can bring your Undead, High-Elves, Orcs, Goblins and Dwarves together using the Battle Cry framework, modified to handle various weapon types and magic rules as well. There are three Fantasy battle scenarios provided and printable counters as well.
AWI Variant Rules by Clay Cooper (posted directly by permission). If you want to create scenarios for the American War of Independence (AWI), Clay shares modifications of basic ranges and effects and also handling for Grenadiers, Light Infantry and Jaegers.
BattleCry Ancients Variant Rules by Steve Burt. This variant ruleset brings a flavor of the well-known De Bellis Antiquitatis system into Battle Cry and may be just the thing to whet your appetite for "Ancients" and "miniatures." Use of DBA figures is assumed for this variant. For additional fun, Steve has posted photos of his very handsome miniature figures and handmade terrain.
The Cry of the Samurai by Renaud Verlaque (posted directly by permission). If you fancy yourself fighting to become Shogun, then this rule set provides you with some simple but key mechanism changes to get period flavor in the Battle Cry setting. You will need to develop scenarios yourself or perhaps look at Brien Martin's DYO system for ideas.
The Lion of Battle by Rick Barber (posted directly by permission). This rule set marries concepts introduced in the Parker Brothers game Lionheart along with Battle Cry mechanisms. In addition, Rick Barber has added additional ideas from his Enhanced Battle Cry rules below. You will need to develop scenarios yourself or perhaps look at Brien Martin's DYO system for ideas.
Battle of Hastings in HTML and JPG format by Philip Taylor (posted directly by permission). You can use Battle Cry and/or Lionheart playing pieces to recreate this famous battle.
Simple Battle Cry in DOC format by Rick Barber and his daughter Nikki (posted directly by permission). This version plays very well with younger people.
NEW! Enhanced Battle Cry Version 3 in DOC format by Rick Barber (posted directly by permission). For those of you who want to have some serious meat, here is a simulation style approach for Battle Cry.
Battle Cry Solitaire by Brien Martin. This system provides the way to play both sides using percentile dice (two ten-sided dice), keeping the surprise factor very much alive.
DYO Battle Cry System (Draft) For those of you who would like to design your own (DYO) skirmishes, consider these draft rules from Brien Martin.

Multiboard Expansion Systems Want MORE? You can have MORE Battle Cry using one of the multiboard expansion systems designed by some of the game's biggest fans.
NEW! Multi-Board Scenario Design Resources for Battle Cry by Don Hessong (posted directly by permission). We will host any multi-board scenarios using this system.

Reviews Check out the various reviews of the game posted around the internet. You will quickly find out how overwhelmingly positive they are.
Steffan O'Sullivan reviews the game on his SOS' Gameviews web site. He reviews an eclectic range of superb games, well worth checking out.
Brian Bankler provides a good game description on his Tao of Gaming web site. He is keeping a running tally (for a while) of games he has played or observed to provide a guide to scenario balance.
The BoardGameGeek provides multiple reviews and gaming session reports from various people. There are a lot of interesting and enthusiastic opinions as they dig into this fun game.
Funagain Games has a number of game reviews from highly satisfied customers who purchased the game through their mail-order service (funagain.com).

Scenario Replays The replays retell the drama of a given scenario. While individual games are fun in themselves, the game really shines when played in a campaign game sequence (where issues of luck and card draw even out).
Replay of Antietam by Neil Carr (at Grognard.com).
Replay of Shiloh by Robert R. Leonhard (at Grognard.com).

Important Historical Links
U.S. Civil War Center This is the best overall index of links to Civil War Resources. Thanks to the Louisiana State University for hosting this resource.
The American Civil War Homepage by Dr. George Hoemann is another rich index of resources. Thanks to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville for hosting this resource.
West Point Maps The Department of History at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) has provided a number of battle and campaign maps, showing unit deployment and movement.

Other Game Links
Battle Cry Mailing List created by Brien Martin on Yahoo.com. Another place to discuss this great game. You can receive the group discussion in email or read it through the web.
Consimworld Discussion Board Active chat about the game is in the Boardgaming: Individual Game Discussion section. You can read the discussion using guest access if you are not a registered member. The designer, Richard Borg, follows the discussion from time to time.
The Unofficial Battle Cry Web Site This site, by Rod Lilley, presents a compilation of the information from other sites, contains a link to a message board, provides new customized scenario tiles, and promises new scenario resources, including the Jackson Campaign. Note that there are photos of Richard Borg's painted miniatures as well as one pleasing photo of the original 25mm sized table top version of the game.

Resources: Home | Resources | New Scenarios | Official Scenarios | Design Notes
Site: by John A. Foley    Launched 06/30/2000, last updated 1/5/2004.