Undaunted: Stalingrad Review - Emotional Gauntlet

A review copy of Undaunted: Stalingrad has been provided by Osprey Games

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[davidthompson]

Thank you so much for one of the most thoughtful reviews I’ve ever heard for a game I helped create. It’s a huge honor.

[spacelaserraptor]

You guys are getting me through a very tough break up after ten years.

I bought Wingspan because of your review, and am playing solo currently - very far away from any friends or family.

Your videos have kept me going in a major way.

Thank you both.

[iansanderson]

I am a wargamer I have played historical figures games since 1973, board wargames since 1977, RPGs since 1977. The thing about playing wargames and this is a wargame is it makes you think about War, the consequences of war the horror of war. Its a valuable thing I am fascinated by War but I hate it, I hate it because I know i as much as anyone who has been fortunate not to have fought can. So the feeling of disquiet is understandable. I always say that when I fight a battle no one dies my figures go back in the box and can be used again. Great review as always

[drewkennewell]

As a player of many heavy war boardgames, one thing i've found is that despite the "play" aspect of turning tragedy into play, it has given me far better understanding and appreciation of the seriousness of these topics.

For example, everything I knew about Omaha Beach was based on the simplified and glorified depiction in Saving Private Ryan. However after playing the brilliant game D-Day At Omaha Beach, it left me with many questions that were eventually answered by reading the book that John Butterfield was inspired by when designing it - Omaha Beach by Joseph Balkoski. Considered one of the most accurate accounts of what happened.

I know we're turning chaos into fun, but if it leads to more people understanding history and ultimately knowing where we went wrong in the past, or even just identifying when the darkest moments of our collective past are at the point of being repeated. Then maybe it's worth it?

[lostmarble]

board game victim loitering in your house is such an excellent way to describe one's partner

[Captainlunchbox]

This is the absolute best review you all have ever published. It's entertaining, it's informative, and it got me interested in a game that wasn't on my radar at all. Thank you.

[gamingmemories]

This review stands out of one of the best ones, you have ever done on all fronts. Bravo No Pun Included.

[brutus_salazaar]

Oh goodness, that finisher!

Thank you for the enthusiastic and well considered review *again*. The quality of your reviews is incredible and the *context* of what the game is about, which often people ignore for mechanics or theme (or art), is brought into focus here. It is a compelling offering, especially since it is only 2 players, and that is much easier to organize than 4 players for sure. I will check out the behind the scenes Patreon video shortly, as I simply *must know more*

[craigrussell]

You are two of gaming's most thoughtful and intelligent reviewers. Long live No Pun Included!

[franceski]

i was 7 when the war started in my country. i was 12 when it finished. i didn't see much of it - some firefights in the distance and running to the bomb shelter during few air raids - but i've experienced things that come with the war. a rise in nationalism being spoon-fed to children in schools, devolving into fascism in mouths of certain teachers. food shortages and power shortages. debilitating poverty that gripped my family for years after the war. i've seen kids coming to our school as refugees only to escape to canada and germany and australia few years later. i've seen my aunt and uncle opening a bar in the winter of '91 with a pinball machine and electronic darts, and fleeing from their village, she pregnant to the teeth, in the winter of '92 with the bar ransacked and burned down. my grandpa's and grandma's house, where i played as a child, burned to the ground. my great grandmother dying from pneumonia as a refugee in a once modern hotel turned into a refugee center. i've seen my father going to war, a man almost 10 years younger than i am today, a father of 3 kids, and coming back changed. i listen to the news from ukraine, and it makes me laugh. not a happy, ha-ha laugh, but the worst kind of laugh, that dark, bitter, deeply sad laugh reserved for tragedies, when things are so bleak and insurmountable that all you can do is laugh. i listen to this childish need to portray everything in black and white, the same way our teachers and our media used to do during wartime, and it fills me with dread for the human condition. and it reminds me of one thing that i believe is true when it comes to war - if you haven't lived it, you can't imagine what it is. for me it will always be a defining break in my childhood, but still a suffering suffered first and foremost through the suffering of my kin - my father, my grandpa and grandma, my aunt and uncle, my cousins who were in the shit, both dying 10 years after the war through a combination of ptsd and alcoholism. for others it will be a thing far, far worse. it will be a place of dread, or of undying hate, or sadness and pain. it will be life-defining.

that is why i haven't got a problem with games like undaunted. or war films, or novels or anything. neither does my dad, or other people i've talked about this. because the war is gamified it's so removed from the real thing that it has no effect at all. it's just dumb (or in some cases pretty smart) fun, so fun that it has no ability to make me feel uneasy. but then again i can only speak for myself, through my narrow lens. others might feel differently. i haven't lived through what they had.

[genea]

That was one helluva review from both of you. Well done.

[stephenjohnston]

Your reviews are always so thorough and so personal that when you offer up a rave like this, it physically tugs at my purse strings.

[dhmcarver]

A great review -- you guys ae always great. I appreciated the reflection at the end. There seems to be a growing consideration by board game reviewers when reviewing historical board games that perhaps we need to at least think about what is on the table. It is a welcome addition to reviews.

[VeeeeryyyFaaaastSlooooth]

Undaunted game system is aging like good wine, the more I play it the more I appreciate it. Can't wait to play this one.

[spencercapier]

No one makes me think more about the ideas surrounding board gaming than this channel. This was an excellent review, and I want to talk about it with the creators over several pints of beer for several hours. Perhaps a board game salon?

[stacie_everdell]

Hands down, the best ttbg reviewers out there! I just love you guys. Thanks so much for all you do. :)

[JosephLachh]

I have Undaunted Normandy and I confirm that these cards are not built to last. Definitely want to invest in some sleeves. I just bought the Ryker sleeves that were made to fit Undaunted Cards. Don't know anything more about sleeves to say if these are the best pick. Hope they make my game last. I'm even thinking of buying another Undaunted Normandy because of how much they scuffed when I and my friends played. Current playtime is probably 24 hours, and the Platoon Seargent for Germany is definitely identifiable.

[tomaszwisniewski]

Awesome review! You made my mind to try Undaunted series.

[BenDeHart]

Exactly the review I needed!! Thank you :)

[marcelorescigno]

Your reviews are always excellent! Congrats!!