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About Undaunted: Normandy
Undaunted: Normandy is a two-player skirmish game by David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin, published by Osprey Games. One player commands American forces and the other German, across a series of scenarios set after D-Day. Your deck is your platoon: each card activates a squad on the board, and when a unit takes a hit you remove one of its cards from your deck for good. It is a wargame that teaches in twenty minutes.
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Is Undaunted: Normandy Right for You?
Best for
Undaunted: Normandy is for two players who are curious about wargames but do not want a manual and a hex map full of counters. Deck-building keeps the rules light, and the scenarios tell a campaign story across a few evenings. It is good for friends who like tactical combat with a clear historical setting. Each scenario is short enough to replay immediately with sides swapped, which is the best way to learn it.
Maybe skip it if…
It is two players only, and dice decide many attacks, so a key shot can miss at the worst moment. Players who want a large-scale strategic war game will find the squad-level scope narrow. The scenarios are also asymmetric, so a single play can feel lopsided until you have tried both sides.
How to Play Undaunted: Normandy
Setup
Pick a scenario, lay out its map tiles and place the starting units. Each player builds their starting deck as the scenario lists, including Fog of War cards.
On Your Turn
- Draw four cards and secretly bid one for initiative. The higher number acts first.
- Play your remaining cards one at a time. Each unit card activates that squad to move, attack, scout or take control; command cards bolster your deck.
- An attack rolls a ten-sided die against the target's defence, adjusted for range and cover. A hit removes a card of that unit.
How to Win
Meet the scenario's objective, usually holding enough objective tiles or wiping out a set number of enemy squads.
💡 Strategy Tips
Your deck is also your health bar. Bolster the squads doing the work, because thin decks cycle to your best units faster.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Bidding high for initiative every round. Spending a strong card to go first means one less action later.
- Advancing without scouting. Riflemen can only take control of tiles your scouts have revealed, and a push into unscouted terrain stalls.
- Ignoring cover. A unit standing in the open is far easier to hit, and moving through cover is usually worth the extra turn.
- Bolstering everything. Adding cards for units that are not contributing thins out the ones doing the work.
Advanced Strategy
- Use Fog of War cards as low initiative bids. It is the one thing they are good for.
- Keep casualties spread. A unit that loses all its cards is eliminated, which often matters for the scenario.
- Hold the objective tiles rather than chasing kills. Most scenarios are decided by control, not casualties.
- Watch your opponent's discard pile. It tells you which units they can activate next round.
Variants & House Rules
Undaunted: North Africa and Undaunted: Stalingrad
Standalone sequels. North Africa adds vehicles, and Stalingrad is a larger campaign game with a persistent map.
Undaunted: Reinforcements
A modular expansion for Normandy and North Africa, adding new scenarios, units and solo play.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
Undaunted: Normandy is the best introduction to wargaming we know of, because deck-building does the job a thick rulebook usually does. Casualties removing cards is a clever rule that ties the deck to the battlefield. The cardboard tiles and counters are clean and readable, and a game rarely needs a rules lookup once you know the units. If you want to try wargames, start here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know about wargames to play?
No. The rules are short and the scenarios introduce new ideas gradually.
Which Undaunted should I start with?
Normandy. It has the simplest rules, and the later boxes build on its ideas.
Can I play it solo?
Not with the base box. Reinforcements adds a solo mode for Normandy and North Africa.