High Stakes Warfare
I’ll start my review, somewhat unconventionally, with quotes from 2 of the worst people to have ever lived. This is because I feel they give an accurate sense of the scale and the scope of the battle of Stalingrad and what was at stake.
“The Red Army and Navy and the whole Soviet people must fight for every inch of Soviet soil, fight to the last drop of blood for our towns and villages…onward, to victory!” – Joseph Stalin
“If the Germans capture Stalingrad, then Europe is lost.” – Adolf Hitler
For those unfamiliar with the historical context, the battle of Stalingrad was a massive turning point of World War II. The victory for the Soviets is considered one of the most important in human history and ultimately the one that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. Every bullet fired, grenade pin pulled and building destroyed therefore had global effects far beyond Stalingrad’s city limits.
In Undaunted: Stalingrad, a two player war game from Osprey games, a pair of players square off for a campaign of up to 15 missions, one as the Germans and one as the Soviets. The gamestate is saved between scenarios so you can pick up where you left off last time. The game is completely resettable at any time so you can start again from scratch.
There is already a fantastic Zatu review by my colleague Pete Bartlam, an Undaunted veteran, but having just finished my first full campaign, I thought I would weigh in with a second opinion from someone who has never played an Undaunted game before (or indeed any other war game).
First Impressions
The first thing that struck me about Undaunted: Stalingrad was the artwork. From the 72 city tiles (plus replacement tiles for when you permanently reduce everything on a tile to rubble) to the 375 action cards depicting various members of both armies as well as tanks, planes and anti aircraft weaponry, all the illustrations are lovingly crafted and oozing with charm.
The other thing that hit me was just how many tokens there are. There are ones for mines, tunnels, aircraft, units for each side, objective markers, etc… It can (ironically) seem daunting at first glance but the game is far more straightforward to play and learn than its component count would suggest.
Set Up
Depending on the gamestate (where you are up to in the story), you will read some extremely well written flavour text from your campaign book, both Soviets and Germans get their own. You will then be told which map to set up from the Map Book and take the tiles, units, objective markers, etc… indicated and replicate what you see. You draft the starting army instructed and read the win condition for your side. Set up any cards you are allowed to draft off to the side of where you’re playing as well.
How It Plays
Each player draws 4 cards and chooses one secretly to determine who gets initiative (go first). This card is then discarded and the highest numbered card goes first (in the case of a draw, the player who went first last round keeps the initiative). The first player then plays an action from the remaining cards such as move, attack, scout tiles for other units to be able to then traverse them or bolster in more units from your supply.
A lot of the attacking and suppressing mechanics involve rolling one or more 10 sided dice and trying to beat a certain number involving adding the armour class of the target to the cover value of their tile and the distance (in tiles) from the attacker. A successful attack roll removes a card from the battle as a casualty and can even knock a card out of an opponent’s hand, making going first invaluable, while suppression success causes that unit to skip a turn.
The winner is the player who completes their objective first or (unless a scenario’s rules explicitly state otherwise) perform a full rout, essentially slaughtering all of their opponent’s Riflemen. A player may surrender at any point if they feel they are too heavily outgunned and unable to win.
At the end of the scenario, 1 in 4 of your casualties will be removed from the game permanently at random and replaced with reserve troops which are less powerful. On the plus side, win or lose, two of your units will be upgraded permanently, making them more powerful and opening up new skills for you to use tactically across the rest of the campaign.
Depending on the outcome, the gamestate changes to one of two possible states on your path and you get a new scenario to play. So after 1 game, there are 2 possible gamestates but there are exponentially branching paths, the further through the campaign you get.
Who Is This Game For / Not For?
Undaunted: Stalingrad is for anyone who is interested in World War II, specifically the battle of Stalingrad. It is also for those who like deck building games and ones with a lot of open ended strategy (multiple ways to achieve the same goal). It’s also for people who enjoy mid-length campaign games with exceptionally well written plot and characters.
As a mid-weight game, Undaunted: Stalingrad is both not for anyone who wants a quick or simple party game, nor is it for those who want a very heavy crunchy experience with very little luck involved. Due to its player count, it’s not for solo gamers, nor is it for those wanting to play at 3+, though I could imagine it might be fun to play 2 vs 2 and cooperate with a partner on how best to play each round. Another type of player this may not be for is one who doesn’t have the time commitment to complete a full campaign, although any scenario can be played as a one shot, it’s the heartache of losing your favourite troop permanently and the joy of unlocking a helpful new action for future use that allow this emotional rollercoaster of a game to soar.
Replayability
Undaunted: Stalingrad may well be one of the most replayable games in my collection. Once a campaign is completed, it is resettable and able to be played again from scratch. Different decisions and outcomes in each scenario can have a ripple effect on the branching paths, meaning that most of the scenarios could be completely different next time. Even the ones that are the same could have to be played completely differently due to certain units permanently dying or buildings razed to the ground 10 scenarios earlier.
Final Thoughts From Me
Having never played an Undaunted game before, I went into it knowing it might not be something I like but I was very pleasantly surprised by the well thought out mechanics, the addictive gameplay loop, the component quality and the attention to detail in the narrative. I hope that if you’re reading this and are on the fence about trying it, this review inspired you to give it a go.
