Ok when I first saw this game a while ago I was interested but not enough to buy it. After watching this review however I'm thinking I need to get this game.
So anyone here play? If so what's your take?
By the way, I've been watching that channel for years for all my board gaming desires. Those guys are good and closely align to my way of thinking. Well at least for the types of board games I'm interested in.
I'd also like to know if anyone has played this and has any thoughts. Thanks.
Wanted to buy but they didn't make this version solo enabled like their other games. Would have bought:)
Yeah I think the extended campaign would make any kind of solo bot almost impossible to implement. I've been playing two player games solo most of my life so that doesn't really bother me. I floated the idea of getting it for Christmas in front of she who shall not be named and there was no reaction, so I might pull the trigger today. Amazon says I can get it by Christmas.
Quote from: Geezer on December 20, 2022, 12:07:13 PM
Yeah I think the extended campaign would make any kind of solo bot almost impossible to implement. I've been playing two player games solo most of my life so that doesn't really bother me. I floated the idea of getting it for Christmas in front of she who shall not be named and there was no reaction, so I might pull the trigger today. Amazon says I can get it by Christmas.
Did she have headphones on at the time?
Nope. ;)
The game looks more like a deck builder than a wargame about Stalingrad to me. Nothing wrong with that, but it might not be what I'm looking for as I'd like more realism. The campaign does look like a great feature.
I have Stalingrad on preorder. I love the Undaunted system and I own the entire series. Not only was I hoping Filip Hartelius, Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson would take the series in the direction of the eastern front, but they also chose one of my favorite WW2 campaign battles. Also it's very cool that Robbie MacNiven wrote the mission briefings. With 15 scenarios this is a meaty wargame and I'm intrigued that the campaign can come to an abrupt end or lead up to a massive final battle.
I posted this over at armchair dragoons about the Undaunted game: I dig the artwork and the modular board tiles. Because the game is easy to set up, there isn't alot holding it back from hitting the table. I like the deck building aspect of the game. I think the two general categories of cards which are command and combat work well into the overall design of the game. By using your platoon command elements like the squad leaders and platoon sergeant, there is a certain compelling factor to the game with having the choice to "bolster" certain elements of your platoon like riflemen, sniper, and machine gunners. I like that the more cards you add to a certain element, the more effective and robust it will be. The sequence of play is very simple so player turns move quickly which keeps the players engaged with the game.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Thank you Groggy for sharing. I'm thinking more and more about getting this game. Just wish it wasn't so expensive.
Wishlisted on Amazon for a sale!
Ordered from Amazon today. It will be here tomorrow. Christmas can't come soon enough! :)
Quote from: Geezer on December 21, 2022, 03:43:02 PM
Ordered from Amazon today. It will be here tomorrow. Christmas can't come soon enough! :)
Nice! Let us know what you think after you've spent some time with the game. :)
Sure thing.
My game arrived a little while ago, as promised. Delivery took a little over 24 hours. It certainly passes the heft test, weighing in at 8.4 pounds! Easily the heaviest game I've ever bought. I resisted all temptation and wrapped it up for Christmas.
Good job on your will power Geezer. 8.4 pounds is impressive.
I remember Twilight Imperium 4th edition being quite heavy as well. I'll have to weigh the my box when I go home later.
Got this to the table this afternoon. Component quality is top notch. Nice thick terrain tiles, thick counters, and good quality cards. Rulebook is clear with full color pics. My only complaint about the components is that some of the artwork bleeds off the edges of the squad and vehicle counters. it doesn't affect play at all, but I don't know why they didn't either resize some of the artwork or move it slightly on the counters.
Played the first scenario in under an hour including looking up a few things to make sure I was doing it correctly, and also reading the two briefings in the playbooks. I am playing this solo even though it's really meant to be a two player game. The main concern with solo play is probably deciding initiative. I saw where some people do it randomly, but that seemed to me to be suboptimal as you could waste a card that could win you a scenario for initiative if doing it randomly. So I just chose what looked like the best play for each side and it seemed to go fine. The Germans got the win, and casualties were surprisingly light on both sides.
The recommendation is to play the first scenario once to learn the rules and then play it again to start the campaign, but I'm going to take this as my start of the campaign since I'm confident I got the rules right. Next steps include figuring out the next scenario to play based on the German win, take any losses, and do squad upgrades.
It's a fun game for anyone looking for a deck builder with a nod to the history of Stalingrad. I would not call it a historical simulation in any way, but they are not selling it that way either so that's fine. Any questions, let me know.
Very encouraging Geezer. I'm close to pulling the hair trigger on this game. Got some money over Christmas that I'm trying to decide how to spend. Haha!
I am probably going to play this game solo so your advice on choosing initiative is a point well taken. I, like you probably, pride myself on making a game designed for two or more players work in solo mode.
Finished my second scenario of the campaign today. I say "my" scenario as there are branches that could make each campaign unique as it goes along. The Germans won again. That was in part due to some bad dice rolls by the Soviets, my poor thinking regarding the Soviet deck design, and the Germans getting the initiative right when they needed it to win.
The first scenario had the same victory conditions for both sides, This one had completely different victory conditions for each side which made for some interesting decisions. New rules appear to get introduced with some new scenarios, so that adds more chrome to the game over time. It also keeps from overwhelming new players with all the rules at once, which is a nice design.
So far I'm happy to have the game.
Edit - One complaint is the card designations in the lower right corner are gray on white and extremely hard for my tired old eyes to read. No idea why they couldn't have made them black on white.
Scenario #3 is in the books and it was a slaughter for both sides with the German's getting the worst of it. Let's just say artillery is devastating and so is close range combat. Both Pavlov's House and Zabalotny's House have been reduced to rubble for the rest of the campaign. The Soviets pulled out the victory by routing both of the German rifle squads. If they had not done that in their turn there is a decent chance the Germans would have done it to the Soviets in their following turn. A nailbiter right to the end, and good fun.
Finished scenario #4 last night. Another German victory. I played the Soviet side poorly which I'm going to chalk up to this being my first time playing the system. The Soviets withdrew after all 6 of their engineer cards ended up in the casualty pile. Technically they still could have won by routing both German rifleman squads but that just wasn't going to happen given the situation on the map. Losing a bunch of Soviet engineers could prove costly going forward in future scenarios. Time will tell. Both sides are feeling the effects of the prolonged fighting, both in terms of permanent casualties and the need to call up reserves.
So far my tendency has been to put mostly upgraded cards in the starting deck but that also usually means they are the first casualties. Not sure if it would be better to hold them back and add them later through bolstering. Maybe others who have played the system could comment on that.
Sounds like an awesome game Geezer. I just so happened to buy a copy of Undaunted Stalingrad from the local wargame store. But the day that I bought the game (5 days ago) I became ill with corona. Did nothing but sleep all day in isolation.
Now that I'm back from the dead I'm going to give this puppy a whirl.
Sorry to hear you got sick, but sounds like you are doing better now. It's a fun game for sure. My campaign got temporarily suspended when my son banged into the gaming table, causing a major earthquake at Stalingrad! :pullhair:
Thanks Geezer, I am doing better for sure now. You son sounds like my cats. It's hard to keep a game on the table without some sort of interference. Haha!
Finished my 5th scenario; yet another German victory. It was set up as a race across the board to the objective tiles. One problem for the Soviets was that the Germans already started with one objective in their control. Not sure if that is a mistake or as intended. The Germans also had a bit better starting position IMHO. The Soviets had already scouted an objective one hex from one of their starting positions, but it still took two actions to get there and control it. They made a game of it and almost pulled out the win, but in the end both of their rifle squads were routed and that was all she wrote.
I set up the next scenario which should prove interesting as it includes some armor and an AT gun for the first time.
My last scenario, #6, didn't go as expected. The German armor played little role in the fight. Instead the Soviets won by routing both German rifle squads. This happened in part because I gave priority to adding armor cards to the German deck. That left their rifle squads somewhat brittle and easier to rout.
The Soviets got a leader upgrade for winning the scenario, and both sides have to add the dreaded Low Morale card to their decks. Seems like the campaign is starting to take a toll on both sides.
Just played through scenario #7. It was a bloody affair for the Germans. Both sides started within spitting distance of each other. The Germans had to advance to take 3 points of objectives with the Soviets already holding the best objectives and it did not go well for them. They lost after suffering their 10th casualty.
Currently the Germans have won four scenarios and the Soviets three, but the Soviets have won two of the last three.
The next scenario involves the Germans covering a tactical retreat after the beating they just took. Soviet morale has improved so they get to remove the Low Morale card from play.
Sounds awesome. I really need to carve out some time to play but I've been so swamped these past weeks.
It's a lot of fun. Just ordered Hadrian's Wall so I may be splitting my time with that.
Soviets got another win in a close fought scenario. The Germans almost succeeded with their rear guard action but came up one mission point short. The Soviets won when they routed a German unit off one of the objectives and then took control of it.
Taking a break at this point as Hadrian's Wall has arrived. I followed the recommendation on how to store the game so I can come back to the campaign at some point.