Guiscard

About this board game

Guiscard is a medieval man-to-man skirmish game for 2–4 players, with an approximate playing time of 120 minutes. Released in 2013, it is a reboot of the original Cry Havoc system.

Set during the eleventh-century conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily, the game places players amid a tangled struggle involving competing powers and conflicting interests. The Normans arrive as mercenaries, but their ambitions soon drive them to seize power by arms under the leadership of Robert Guiscard—known as “the cunning” or “the weasel.”

Guiscard features more than 170 unique characters belonging to the major factions of the period. These forces represent the diverse political and military landscape of the setting:

• The Byzantines
• The Arabs of Sicily
• The Lombards
• The Germans
• The Normans

This broad cast of characters supports battles shaped by the rival identities and interests of the era. Each conflict takes place within the game’s focused man-to-man skirmish framework, offering a way to experience the upheaval surrounding the Norman expansion.

Designed for players who want to play the Cry Havoc system but can no longer obtain an original box, Guiscard brings that system back through a new historical setting. It combines a richly defined medieval conflict with a substantial roster of unique characters for games of two to four players.