Deck-building
is one of the greatest innovations in family games in the last twenty years.
Dominion is a staple for the wife and me, as well as the broader family.* Other
games have gone with this model with varying degrees of success. I’m not here
to talk about those.
I’ve had
some experience in conflict simulation games using a deck-building mechanic
with Time of Crisis (GMT Games, When I first heard about Undaunted: Normandy
(Osprey Games, 2019), I was conflicted. I’m a big fan of Osprey – both their
books (not cheap but, in my experience, good value every time), and more
recently, their games (both board games and RPGs – but I’m not here to talk
about those). Osprey have consistently produced thoughtful, well-designed, and
very well produced games, since Osprey Games became a thing. So, when I heard
the company was bringing out a deck-building wargame, I didn’t know what to
think. I leant into, “It might be interesting, but do I really need another
D-Day game?”**
Try as I
might, I couldn’t see how a deck-building game could bring to the table the
visceral tension of squad-level combat, like Band of Brothers: Screaming Eagles (Worthington Publishing, 2011), Conflict of Heroes (Academy
Games, 2008), or The Last Hundred Yards (GMT Games, 2019). Even learning
it was a David Thompson / Trevor Benjamin co-design wasn’t enough to shift me
on it. Even the ridiculously good price of the game (under $50 in Australia if
you shopped around), wasn’t quite enough to make me budge (nearly, though).
What did it
was two things. Firstly, the release of Undaunted: North Africa (Osprey, 2020).
I’d just read Gavin Mortimer’s The Men Who Made the SAS: the history of the
Long Range Desert Group (Constable, 2015), and the chance to game-out some
of the incidents described in that book proved too great to resist. Still, I
would have been happy to stick to just the North Africa game, were it not for
the promise of Undaunted: Reinforcements (Osprey Games, 2021), the third
release in the series. While not a game in itself, Reinforcements brings new
scenarios and a solitaire gaming option for both Normandy and North Africa, as
well as vehicles for Normandy (absent from the original game).
One of the selling
points of Undaunted: Reinforcements was that the slightly deeper box was
designed to house not only the new materials for the two games, but also all the
components from the two previous titles. I have more than a little of the
completist instinct, so this made the purchase of Undaunted: Normandy
unavoidable and inevitable.
In this
review. I’ll be sticking to Undaunted: Normandy; I’ll probably get to the other
games in the series in due course, but Normandy is the one that started it all,
so it makes sense to begin here.
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| Neat and tidy. |
Appearance
The first thing you notice when you
open the box is how well everything fits. Actually, the first thing I noticed
was that the box was smaller than what is generally considered “standard” in
wargames (the Compass/GMT-sized box designed to accommodate letter-sized print,
or the closer to foolscap-accommodating boxes of European publishers like
Hexasim and Nuts!). Osprey put a lot of thought into both the physical design
and the packaging of all their games, and this is evident in the details. The
box has been designed to fit the game*, rather than the other way around. A
plastic blister insert accommodates the map tiles, counters, cards, and dice,
with a recess at the top for the two booklets (rules and scenarios). Because
there are two sets of cards in the one recess, a cardboard card the same weight
as the map tiles is provided as a divider to separate the decks.
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| Sample scenario. |
The components are all quality stuff.
The cards are on good card stock, the map tiles are nice and thick, double
sided, and well-produced, even the black ten-sided dice feel nice to use
(although from my rolls, I must check periodically that they still have faces
above a 6). Undaunted: Normandy is rules-light. That’s not to say it’s an easy
game. I think someone coming to it without a wargaming background might have an
easier time of it in some ways, but more on that later. The rulebook is easy to
navigate, with clear examples and helpful illustrations. They are an exercise
in economy of words, and for the most part they work well. The scenario book,
too, is clear and well-presented; each scenario has a list of the tiles needed
(in numerical order) and a map-illustration of how to configure them. Each
scenario also has a complete list of the component cards for each side, with
circles indicating which unit cards and how many of them will be required for
that set-up; one or more of these circles will be filled in – these indicate
the cards that make up that side’s starting deck.
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| Scenario map sample (note the tile list at the bottom). |
Each scenario also includes a map of
how to lay out the files, and a list of the tiles running along the bottom of
the page with the ones you’ll need for that scenario highlighted in bold type (a
nod to obsessives like me who sort the tiles into ascending order before
putting them away).
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| Set-up for solo playthrough of Scenario 8: Battle for Tessy-sur-Vire |
I should also note the illustrative
work in the game. All the art in Undaunted: Normandy was created by Roland
MacDonald, map tiles, card and counter graphics, cover illustration, the lot.
It’s interesting work; simple without looking cartoony (like, say, Heroes of Normandie). The characters represented capture types we’re all familiar
with, the hard-bitten sergeant, the G.I.s there to do a job and try to make it
home again, the truculent German soldiers and their urbane officers. Even
within the sets of unit cards, every character is different, with a different
name, and each bears an expression of grim determination. When a unit suffers
attrition, it feels like you’re losing a soldier, not just a strength factor. In
short, the art really helps the story of the scenarios come to life, and it has
informed the whole series. The tiles are where the story unfolds, and these are
gorgeous as well. The forests, fields, towns, farmhouses, and bocage all have
an element of realism while still maintaining the quality of artistry. The
greens are lush, the rivers are convincing, the buildings look like French
farmers may be hiding their families in the cellars. And casting back to the
quality of the components, the tiles all match up together beautifully; there
is no jarring sense of shifting from one terrain-type to the next – everything it
seamless. And while no roads appear on the tiles, the river segments match up
perfectly. That speaks to the eye for detail that’s been applied to the
production of Undaunted: Normandy.
Play
The basic format of Undaunted:
Normandy should be familiar to anyone who has played a tactical simulation
game, from original Squad Leader (Avalon Hill, 1977) on up. It has a
geomorphic play area, units in play represented by cardboard tokens, and a set
or parameters for victory, usually the seizure and holding of one location or a
few separate locations. The first variation from this theme is the fact that
instead of placing a few map-sections together, you will create the whole play
area from the map tiles. Each map tile is a location, and most units can only
move one tile per activation. The map tiles are staggered, so they behave like
hexes; from a tile in the centre, it’s possible to move in six different
directions to another tile.
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The unit tiles are forgivingly large,
with clearly readable information. Each tile is double-sided, so each side is
discretely marked in the bottom right-hand corner with the tile number and an A
or B, and a shield bottom-centre with a number. This number details the cover
value of the tile (more on this in a minute). Each unit is represented by a round
token with some details on it about the type of unit (Rifleman, Scout, Sniper),
the section to which it’s attached (A, B, or C), and its base defence number (4
for Riflemen and Machine Gun crews, 7 for Snipers). These units are also represented
by cards. Initially, you’ll have starting deck one card for each of your units
starting on the board. The unit cards tell you what orders you can give that
unit by using that card, and these, along with some support cards (officers who
allow you to draw or activate cards from your draw decks) and a couple of Fog
of War cards that represent the confusion of a dynamic combat situation,
limiting your tactical options even further.
The cards are the engine of the game;
they offer the player limited tactical options and, consequently, difficult decision-points
with each hand. With every round, each player draws four cards, then immediately
chooses one of the cards in their hand to bid for initiative that turn (using
the value marked in the top-left hand corner of the card). If both players bid
the same value, Initiative remains with whoever held it the previous round. The
bidding card is sacrificed; you don’t get to use that until it comes up again
in the next deck cycle. That’s your first difficult choice, and you must make
that choice on every draw. Whoever wins or retains the Initiative goes first
for the round, using each of their cards to their best advantage. When they
have used all their cards, the other player uses their three remaining cards.
The unit cards allow you to perform one of a selection of actions printed on
the card. This will usually include moving, shooting at an enemy unit, or some
specialised task associated with the unit in question. The goal in a scenario
may be to capture (control) selected positions (such as the two bridges
crossing the Vere River in Scenario 6), or some of a selection of positions adding
up to a points-total (such as a controlling a selection of 1- and 2-point positions
on the play area adding to a value 6 points total in the introductory
scenario). Riflemen are the only units on the board who can Control (secure) a position
(game tile), but they cannot go just anywhere; the area must be scouted first,
and the only unit that can pave the way for the Riflemen and other units are Scouts.
Scouts can also remove a Fog of War card from the player’s hand (Recon), or add
a new Fog of War card to the opponent’s discards (Evade). Other units have
various specialised skills; e.g., Machine Gunners can lay suppression fire on a
unit (Suppress), which, if successful, flips that enemy unit’s counter over to its
suppressed side. Your opponent will now need to spend the next card he draws for
that unit to flip it back to active before it can undertake any more orders,
buying you time to get one of your units into place for the next stage of the
operation.
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The fact that each unit has a discrete
set of functions forces the player to consider all the units at their disposal
as parts of a cohesive, organic structure. You can’t neglect any part or your
force development; some units are more crucial than others, but every part
plays a role in the mission.
Other cards will allow you to draw cards
from the selection of cards not yet incorporated into your deck (Bolster), activate
a single card to use immediately (Inspire), or draw two more cards from your
draw-deck to play this turn (Command).
There are two ways of winning a
scenario in Undaunted: Normandy (although in some scenarios the second way to
win is actually the first way); achieve the victory conditions as detailed in
the scenario (usually gaining control of a location or locations on the board)
or making it impossible for your opponent to complete their objective by destroying
their Rifleman units. Nearly all units have the ability to attack other units,
sometimes (Snipers, Mortars) with more than one dice.
To try to hit an enemy unit, you check
the number in the shield at the bottom at the bottom of the unit’s token. That’s
their base protection. To this number you add the number of tiles distance, and
the ambient protection offered by the terrain they’re located in (e.g., your Scout
is taking a shot at an enemy Rifleman unit, who are located in a field hedged
with bocage two tiles distant; the Rifleman’s native protection is 4, plus 2
for the distance, and an extra 1 for the cover of the bocage – 7 in total, so
the Scout will need to roll an 8 or higher to hit). A successful hit will
remove one of the unit’s cards from the play-deck; the owning player will first
check their hand, then their discards, then the draw deck. That card is removed
from play. When all the cards are discarded, the unit comes off the board.
This sounds like a lot of fuss, and I’m
not sure I’ve explained it all that clearly (there are lots of Undaunted playthroughs
and tutorials on YouTube, some better than others), but once you understand how
the moving parts of the game interact, it runs quite quickly. Even the most
involved scenarios I’ve played could be played through in eighty minutes. I did
struggle with the terminology when I first started playing the Undaunted system
(wiping out a unit – making your opponent discard all of that unit’s order
cards – is called pinning, which seems counterintuitive to an old grognard;
how can someone be pinned if they’re already dead?). For the people I’ve
introduced the game to, it seems to have clicked for all of them part-way
through the second game. I suppose it was the same for me when I learned it
playing two-handed.
I found the card play became second
nature after a few games, though the tough decisions haven’t got easier. Play is
usually tense, but the fact of only having a maximum of three actions to a turn
keeps the game moving forward at a good clip and maintains a high level of
engagement. Who holds the upper hand in a game can literally change on the turn
of a card, And the fate of the game can rely on a couple of dice rolls.
Appraisal
Before I’d played Undaunted: North
Africa, the card-drafting and deck building elements of the system seemed to me
a bit of a gimmick, something to lure regular family- or euro-gamers into the
wargaming fold; a laudable ambition, to be sure, but not something I needed to
engage with. Since playing North Africa and Normandy, I’ve come around to the
thinking that this is Not only a valid way to approach wargaming (at least at a
tactical level), but one that well captures the contingencies and sporadic
nature of warfighting at the most rudimentary level; the limited orders for
units approximates the on-the-ground command difficulties, with its incomplete
intelligence and the to-and-thro of initiative. It’s not a perfect reflection
of squad-level combat, but neither is ASL. It does accomplish what it
sets out to do; it’s a fun, relatively fast-playing game that reflects some of
the aspects of infantry fighting during the invasion of France by the allies in
June and July 1944, and does so in an engaging and diverting way that is
accessible to people who haven’t necessarily spent years or decades playing
wargames.
Some may no doubt complain about the coarseness
of the detail in the make-up of the two combatant sides. The parameters, strengths
and weaknesses of the German Riflemen, Scouts, Snipers, Machine Gunners, and
other units are all duplicated in their American counterparts. There is no
granularity to capture the variances between types of troops (such as battle-hardened
Eastern front veterans and Polish conscripts), or the vicissitudes of close combat
in an unfamiliar environment. I’d argue that this is a game, not a simulation,
and shouldn’t be judged as such. As an approximation of combat, I believe it’s
a good one. And at the same time, it manages to be fun, and potentially
educational for some. Each scenario is based on a reported action recorded in
the annals of the 30th Infantry Division – they are not just made up
– and a brief note is included in the scenario explaining what the American
forces aimed to accomplish with the action.
The scenarios are designed to be
played sequentially, each introducing new units and elements to the game, much
like most multi-scenario games these days. I would recommend starting at the
first scenario if coming to the game with no previous experience (I say this as
someone who began with the second scenario of Undaunted: North Africa and
struggled a little; there’s a reason why the scenarios are in the order they
appear). The first game I’m aware of to do this was Avalon Hill’s Squad Leader.
Unlike that and other games, where the experienced player finds the opening
couple of scenarios a little pedestrian, I’ve played the Le Reye scenario of
Undaunted: Normandy maybe six times now, and each time I’ve found it both engaging
and challenging.
In my experience, Undaunted: Normandy
is best as a two-player game. I’ve played several scenarios by myself, two-handed,
mostly to get to know the game, but the experience is much more satisfying playing
against another player. I haven’t tried the solitaire mechanism introduced in
Reinforcements yet, so I can’t speak to that (although the consensus on the Internet
seems generally positive), but I wouldn’t get any of the Undaunted system with
the intention of playing solo. Having said that, I think Undaunted: Normandy
has enough game elements to it to make it a less daunting (sorry) to a gamer new to wargaming.
In short, Undaunted: Normandy is a lot
of fun. It takes a little time to set up, but no more than most games and decidedly
less time than some. And it does have a lot of moving parts, but, as I said,
these become somewhat intuitive, the rules are straight forward and easy to
assimilate, and all the information you need to play is either on the cards, the
tokens, or the map tiles. I’m glad I finally gave in and bought it.
* Actually,
anything that allows me to say, “Well, sure – I suppose we could play
Monopoly… or we could play THIS!” is a winner in my book.
** I currently
own (at last count) seven games covering either the Normandy landings or the
broader Western Front campaign, and I have Carl Paradis’s No Retreat!: the
Western Front (GMT Games, 2023?) on P500 order.
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