WWII deckbuilding series Undaunted heads to Stalingrad this autumn
Standalone sequel to Normandy and North Africa billed as a “big box” addition to the series.
Undaunted, the acclaimed mashup of Dominion-like deckbuilding with the tactical combat of a historical wargame, is returning this autumn with a third instalment set against the battle of Stalingrad.
Undaunted: Stalingrad follows its standalone predecessors set in Normandy and North Africa during World War II, as well as expansion Reinforcements. The two-player game will take place in the Russian city sometime in 1942, with August of that year marking the beginning of the bloody five-month battle fought between the Soviet Union and Germany and the Axis powers.
Undaunted sees players using a unique deck of cards representing troop types to control tokens on a battlefield made up of individual terrain squares, attempting to claim objectives and weaken enemy forces. Adding additional cards to your deck allows you to call in reinforcements and replace lost units, with each unit having unique advantages and skills. Combat is resolved using simple dice rolls affected by range, terrain and defence.
Undaunted: North Africa added new rules for vehicles and increased asymmetry on top of Normandy’s impressive foundation; in our review, I wrote that it improved on an already outstanding deckbuilding and wargaming experience.
Undaunted: Stalingrad introduces a new branching narrative to the connected missions of the previous games, with the outcome of individual scenarios said to affect the overall conclusion of the campaign - and even World War II. The description for the upcoming board game indicates that casualties suffered during skirmishes will result in units being lost for the rest of the campaign, while terrain will be affected by the use of heavy artillery such as mortars.
The campaign will span up to 15 individual scenarios, each lasting between 45 minutes to an hour, extending it past the dozen missions in Normandy and North Africa. 150 different mission briefings, penned by author Robbie MacNiven, will be included, suggesting variability in the setup for each scenario.
While elements of the campaign will persist throughout each playthrough, Stalingrad will not feature any permanent destruction or modification as in legacy games such as Pandemic Legacy, allowing it to be completely reset for fresh replays.
Publisher Osprey Games described Undaunted: Stalingrad as a “big box experience”, with a grander scale than either of its predecessors. Last year, co-creators Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson teased an unannounced third entry in the series, calling it “super, super big” and “a beast”, hinting that Stalingrad and the Pacific Theater were among the most-requested settings for future instalments. Normandy and North Africa artist Roland MacDonald returns to illustrate the latest addition to the series.
Undaunted: Stalingrad is planned to release this autumn. A price is yet to be announced.