Cry Havoc (board game)

Cry Havoc is a wargame with a medieval setting. Several scenarios are included in the game that set up a variety of combatants on each side, including peasants, sergeants, billmen, men-at-arms, knights and various other "character" classes. For example, in the scenario called "Peasant Revolt", 11 peasants, 19 yeoman and six pack mules are arrayed against 13 mounted and heavily armoured knights.[1]

The game comes with two colour maps, three rulebooks, and 228 counters printed on thin cardstock.[1]

The Cry Havoc system was later expanded with the publication of the following games:

• Samurai Blades or Samurai (warfare in medieval Japan).
• Siege (expansion to Cry Havoc with siege rules).
• Outremer or Croisades (the Crusades, Croisades being the French edition with expanded rules).
• The Fortified Medieval Town and The Templars Castle (walled city and a castle expansion maps).
• Viking Raiders or Vikings (Vikings against Anglo-Saxons, Vikings being the French edition with new maps and expanded rules).
• Dark Blades or Dragon Noir I and II (Medieval fantasy, Dragon Noir being the expanded French edition in two volumes (four planned but the last two never completed)).

In the May 1984 edition of Dragon (Issue 85), Ken Rolston was impressed with the quality of the maps, with the concise and well-written rulebooks, and the simplicity of the combat system. His only minor caveat was that the counters were too thin to be easily picked up. Rolston highly recommended it, saying, "Cry Havoc is easy to learn and simple to play... The rules are clear and unambiguous, and the scenarios are varied and dramatic... The value of Cry Havoc is in the beauty of its presentation, the charm of its medieval atmosphere, and the appeal of its simple mass combat systems.[1]

In the November-December 1984 edition of Space Gamer (Issue No. 71), Craig Sheeley also gave a thumbs up, saying, "Cry Havoc is superb, a wonderful thumbnail sketch of medieval combat. Gamers interested in FRPGs will find it a useful aid, especially the maps."[2]

In the December 1984 issue of Casus Belli (Issue #23), Patrick Giacomini reviewed the Siege expansion, which he said had a far superior set of rules that were "consistent and (relatively) precise" compared to the original Cry Havoc! game. Although he admired the cover artwork, he criticized the box design, calling it too thin and too large, saying, "They often arrived slightly crushed, fortunately without damage to the components inside." He also pointed out that the two small plastic ziplocks included for storage were far too small for the 200 counters in the game. Overall, Giacomini thought the game covered a grey area between wargames and role-playing games, pointing out that in addition to being a "pleasant wargame", this game provided opportunities for "Personalization of leaders, diplomatic evolution [and] introduction of adventurers into medieval conflicts."[3]

• The V.I.P. of Gaming Magazine #3 (April/May, 1986)

• Cry Havoc at BoardGameGeek
• Cry Havoc Fan, in English and French language