Iron and Oak and Battle Cry

 This one nearly passed me by! I remember seeing this game when it first came out but never got around to getting a copy. This has been duly rectified and with an additional surprise in the box! The game is a ship to ship tactical combat game that uses a square grid, order cards and wait for it - opposing dice rolls for movement and firing. Needless to say, it would be very simple to use models rather than counters although in my case I would need a larger playing surface to accommodate my models.

The box lid....

....and the back.

The playing surface - note the square grid (actually rectangular).

The game components. Lots of damage counters and the all important ship cards and counters

Some additional scenarios and rules found in the C3i magazine

There are some unusual mechanics in this game - opposed dice rolls for movement and firing would certainly raise a few naval wargaming eyebrows for a start - but the rationale behind the various systemic decisions seem sound enough, certainly for the gamer that wants a 'game that has the flavour, rather than a 'flavour that has a game'. 

On a different tack....

I have been looking long and hard at the scenarios in Battle Cry and indeed, also reacquainting myself with the rules. The former was a pleasurable experience, the latter less so, mainly because I am averse to using them as written! A quick visit to the files section of Boardgamegeek soon rectified this and so I was able to download an advanced set which looks far more appealing. I also used the opportunity to download a variant for the Zulu War.

If time permits I am looking to run a Battle Cry over the weekend using the advanced rules so watch this space as I shall certainly be posting the after action report on the blog.