Review: Cry Havoc an intriguing sci-fi “dudes on a map” throwdown

Enlarge (credit: Owen Duffy)

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On first inspection, Cry Havoc looks like any number of similarly grim and gritty science fiction board games. It comes with a stash of plastic soldiers, robots, and aliens, and its artwork paints a world in tones of mud, fire, and gun metal. But if you're expecting a quick fix of hectic, dice-chucking combat, you're going to be disappointed, because Cry Havoc offers a much more thoughtful take on the concept of planetary conquest.

(credit: Portal Games)

Cry Havoc hands players command of rival factions competing to colonize a newly discovered world. Playing as aggressive and expansionist humans, merciless and powerful machines, or elusive and enigmatic aliens known as the Pilgrims, you attempt to claim victory by seizing control of territories and exploiting them for their resources (in the form of shiny plastic crystals).

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