Battle Line is a two-player card game built around the theme of warfare during the age of Alexander the Great. Battle Line features 60 full-colour cards depicting the prominent formations of the period (War Elephants, Heavy Cavalry, Phalanx, etc.) and 10 full-colour tactics "wildcards" that give players extra flexibility and choices and help make each new battle wildly different from the last. Battle Line takes about 30 minutes to play. To win, you must create powerful formations along your side of the line of battle that are superior to those of your enemy. Victory goes to the player who wins 5 of the 9 battle flags (an envelopment) or three adjacent flags (a breakthrough). Based on Reiner Knizia's original design published in Germany as Shotten-Totten, Battle Line enhances and expands that game system to give players even more tactical options and gut-wrenching decisions. How will you muster your battle line? Will you use your elephants to trample a hole in the enemy front, or send Alexander to the front to win a critical flag? Maybe you'll dispatch the Companion cavalry to lead or reinforce a crucial point in the line, or perhaps you'll rely on your spies to determine the enemy's strengths and weaknesses before committing your best forces. You'll always have plenty of choices. With every card play, you'll determine the strength and direction of your attack while plotting to fend off your enemy's advances. In Battle Line, you and your opponent lead the combined arms of the greatest units of the era. Will you, like Alexander, reign supreme? Play Battle Line, and find out. Designer: Reiner Knizia
