Heintzelman Defends Title Over 4-Time Champion!

Battle Cry continues to draw a steady attendance of 27-30 players over the last 4 years. Would changing the first-round mulligan on the first weekend boost the numbers back to the 50 level it used to be? That is open to discussion. This year each round had the combatants play two games, switching sides after the first game. That eliminated the need for bidding.

The opening round mulligan drew 12 participants, while the first round drew 18. The scenario for the First round was Second Bull run, and the Union had a small advantage over the Confederates 17-13.

The second round was the start of elimination play. Glorietta Pass has been used as a scenario in tournaments for years, even though it is not officially listed in the rules booklet. (I can recall playing it at other events in 2004). It proved its value again as the games were evenly split between the Union and the Confederates.

That lead to a Quarterfinal with 7 players left. Former champion Jeff Cornett got a bye to get to an even four (Last year ‘s champ Geoff Heintzelman had gotten the first bye earlier). Geoff, Brad Raszewski and Jon Manley won their matches to get into the Semifinal.

The Semifinal scenario was Yellow Tavern, another scenario not in the original game. This round there was no advantage as Geoff won both games over Brad and Jeff won his games over Jon.

The Final was between two players with the same name but spelled differently. Geoff won the first game and was leading the second game when time was called. This made Geoff the second player to successfully defend his title (Steve Lollis was the first). However, Jeff’s place in the history books is still secure as he is the only 4-time champion.

A note for Battle Cry fans: Word on the street is that Hasbro no longer has the rights to Battle Cry. Unfortunately, I have no other information as to the future (if any) of this fun game. I can tell you I have seen an Epic game done by Richard Borg. Also, be advised that I ran this for one year and it is unlikely I will do it next year.