Cry Havoc Board Game

Takeaway: go ahead and get the game if you're thinking about it.I've only played the 2p version, but I can only see that having more players makes it even more fun. It would definitely increase action on the board. The game itself is not very complicated, but, as others have noted, the rule book could be a bit clearer. Luckily, you can find some FAQs online. After playing a few rounds, games speed up and you can see players catching on to their factions' strengths and weaknesses and amending their strategies. This is super fun for the right group of people; however, it could be a long nightmare for people who aren't familiar with playing games of this weight.I've seen several people comparing it to Blood Rage, while also saying they haven't played Cry Havoc--they're just assuming. Sure, there are a few similarities between the games: battling, card playing, recruiting. But each game does these things differently, and there are many more differences between the games that I don't see them being comparable by any real measure. You could own both and play both regularly with your group. Blood Rage does a good job of allowing players who are down to amend their strategies and try to score in a variety of ways, so the game can be volatile and suspenseful. Cry Havoc, on the other hand, is more traditional in that a well executed and sustained strategy is going to pay off, especially if that strategy considers the player's faction's strengths and weakness in relation to the other players. I have both games, and really like both games.

what a stinker. i succumbed to the hype train on this one. big time. i watched the dice tower review. tom vasel went nuts for this. no pun included was less than fond of it. board game geek featured mostly positive reviews. i'm just pointing this out to show you that i did my research and i understand this game is mostly liked/highly reviewed.that being said, i played with three other experienced gamers (one of whom loved it and two of whom were meh about it) and it was a total snoozefest. zzzzzzzz. capital b boring. you know how when you are researching a purchase - like a new phone or something - and you mostly find positive reviews and then after you get said thing and something goes wrong with it you can all the sudden find TONS of people chiming in about that same thing? same thing with cry havoc. look for everyone chiming in about unbalanced, broken factions, etc. enough to where the game designer, grant, chimes in on bgg forums (aggressively and angrily i might add) about how much time he spent making the game so obviously it can't be broken.let's set aside the unbalanced, broken element between the factions. mainly because this game is billed as an asymmetric game so i kind of understood this might be the case going in. also, it just takes time to learn the factios and play with them etc. though some details are required for factions to do well. machines have to play a long game to have a prayer. pilgrims can ONLY play euro to have a chance. trogs in 4-player games are OP as balls in the early rounds. anywho, let's set this all aside because it's billed as asymmetric so you should be ready for this if you're buying it.one "strength" people keep touting about this game is the variety. and wow, yeah, you can do a ton of stuff. but in cry havoc's case, that's its second great downfall. because it doesn't do anything that it does particularly well. t.i.m.e. stories, for instance, is an AMAZING story. cosmic encounter is a fantastic card game. cry havoc is so spread out, and tries to accomplish so much, that it doesn't really succeed at anything. which makes it incredibly weak. it's not quite a worker placement game. it's not quite a deck-building game. it's not quite a resource management game. it's just a hodgepodge of different mechanics that never quite shine. so neither does the game.and the game components and rules aren't doing it any favors. like i said, i've only ever played this with experienced gamers, and we had to stop the game many many times to consult forums and online faqs to figure out what was going on. which takes the wind right out of cry havoc's tiny little, hodgepodge sails.back to, and ending with, it's primary downfall: this game is BORING. it's like a more-boring, sci-fi risk. i understand risk is one of the most successful board games of all time and comparing cry havoc to it is probably more a compliment than anything else. but for me, risk is boring. and that's not because i'm stupid - which i'll admit i can be about a great many things - but NOT board games. by the time the last round rolled about, i was already trying to pack up every component not being used and thinking about how to trade, sell, or recycle this stinker.tom vasel said it's one of his best games of the year, and who am i to contend with the game board god? but for me, this is - unequivocally - my worst game of the year.

Have only played this game a handful of times with one other player, and it's... interesting.I tend to like to settle in and play games for an extended duration. So far, this game hasn't allowed me to really "settle". The pace is much quicker with each game lasting no more than 12ish turns. Obviously, a big plus for those who are not looking for something that takes 2+ hrs per game.The combat is neat and works well imo. It doesn't depend on the luck of die, but can still be unpredictable.I want to play with 3+ players and see how the dynamic changes. I feel like the game wants to be more combat oriented, but with only 2 players, it's easy to battle just one to two times and then the game is suddenly over.I don't feel like this is a full review, only because I feel like I need to play it several more times with a few more players to really see it's potential. But with what I've experienced so far, it's enjoyable and a game I'd grab over the likes of Sorry or Connect 4.

Awesome board game with lots of replay value! Deep strategy game thats alot of fun however it is confusing to learn at first and would definitely suggest watching a youtube video because the rules can sometimes be a little vague/overwhelming. After I learned the game it quickly became a top 5 favorite of mine and suggest it to anyone that loves strategy games!

Cry Havoc is a great game, but can give off a bad first impression.Cry Havoc, for all it's good aspects, does have some teething issues. The balance issues seems real to me, but doesn't ruin the game. With a few minor tweeks and house rules, the game runs fine. BUT....it does have a STEEP learning curve, more so then your typical minis on a map game. The four factions are radically different and require MANY game plays to learn them! You will get trounced by experienced players the first few times you play, and there will be players who don't like that.And that's why I gave it only a 4-STAR review. There is a 5-STAR game in here, but it takes A LOT to bring it out. Too much perhaps for some players.