Undaunted 2200: Callisto Board Game Review

Undaunted 2200: Callisto Board Game

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However, right back to the original, some players who were uncomfortable reducing real-life conflict to a game wanted a sci-fi version. Now their wish has been granted, as the same systems have been ported to the fight for an icy, mineral-rich moon between miners and their corporate overlords in Undaunted 2200: Callisto

What’s in the Box

Undaunted 2200: Callisto arrives in a very heavy box, and those familiar with the previous entries in the series may be surprised to find the weight is mostly down to four double-sided, fold-out boards, replacing the modular board tiles of the original. While this reduces the number of maps you can fight on it is, for the most part, a positive change making setup easier and the boards better looking, with clear space demarcations and helpful information printed around the edges. The board art is suitably dark, cold and futuristic.

Some other surprises await. Alongside the 10-sided dice that the series has always used are a collection of eight- and 12-sided ones, used with one of this entry’s new rules, shooting at different elevations. This is also the first entry to contain a dedicated solo rule book, with solitaire play being available only via an expansion previously. There are also game rules and a scenario booklet which are clear and concise.

Beneath these are more familiar components. There are a couple of sheets of punch-out tokens and standees, which represent foot units and vehicles, respectively. There are also two large decks of cards, one for each faction, which you’ll use to command your troops. The art on these is detailed and atmospheric but has one problem: most of the figures depicted are in space suits, which makes them feel weirdly anonymous and identikit, despite efforts being made to visually differentiate the two factions. This, alongside the black-on-yellow and white-on-blue of the counters, can also make it a little awkward to tell at a glance exactly what unit under your command is what.

Rules and How it Plays

The core gameplay remains unchanged, so veterans of the series can dive right in. Each scenario gives you a list of cards for your starting deck, and a bigger pool of cards you can incorporate into your deck during play. At the start of each turn, both players draw four cards and pick one to bid for initiative, with more powerful cards having a higher bid value. Going first can have a huge impact on how the turn unfolds, and the loser’s card is wasted, so this is a rapidly repeating dose of tension.

Your other cards can be a mix of combat and command cards. Playing the former allows you to activate the corresponding counters on the board to do things like move and attack. The latter let you either choose new cards to add to your deck, or sometimes to draw more cards or re-activate units for a second action in the same turn. How you choose to use command cards is a fascinating strategic puzzle that depends on the scenario and the state of your forces. The more cards you add, the slower your deck will cycle and the less likely it is you’ll get complementary cards in your draw, but it also gives units more staying power in a game where eliminating enemies is often a victory condition.

When it comes to activating troops, you can’t just rush for objective spaces, or into combat with foes. Before most counters can reach a space, it has to be marked as scouted, which is the preserve of cards with the matching action, generally recon and navigation units. Once scouted, heavier units can move in and use an action to control the space, which is the other key victory condition in most scenarios. This sets up a constant stress over how to most effectively move and utilize the forces at your disposal. Each space has a defensive bonus, and the need to scout often leaves counters in vulnerable positions before they can creep into safely. Similarly, you often want your soldiers to be attacking, not spending precious actions to take control of spaces.

Most of the new game aspects add pieces to this tactical puzzle. Most noteworthy is a simple elevation system, where clearly marked spaces and platforms are treated as one level above standard spaces. Firing up a space means you’re rolling an eight-sided dice against the target number of the counter’s defense, plus the range, plus the bonus printed on the space they’re in. Firing down gets you a 12-sided dice, whereas the same elevation uses 10-sided dice. When target numbers are generally six or more, that variation makes a huge difference, meaning the fight over elevated spaces can be vicious, diverting your attention away from the objective spaces that can win you the game.

The other major change is the addition of space-specific actions, which are also printed on the board. Most commonly these are doors which you can spend an action to open, or to attack, removing them permanently, although some scenarios have laser turret spaces you can use to make a powerful attack. Between these action spaces and the elevation rules, Undaunted 2200: Callisto answers another common request from fans of the series for more interactive terrain rules. Like everything else in the game, the designer’s solution is streamlined yet effective, adding variety and depth to play with minimal extra rules overhead.

Vehicles are another example of this thought process at work. They have a shield printed round their defensive values, which essentially means they’re immune to small-arms fire. Some attack options have values to use against soft foot units, while others can attack these armored targets: often the ranges and values are different. A mining Ripper unit, their standard troop, rolls one die at any range against soft targets, but gets two dice against armored targets in the same hex, for example. Vehicle units can be very powerful, not only in terms of firepower but also flexibility, and so become yet another move in the interlocking circles of prioritization that bedevil all your choices in this game.

Units also get plenty of variety. In addition to the standard scouts, solider and machine-gunners that you meet in the first scenario, later units add additional effects such as area attacks and suppressing fire, or the ability to transport other troops with them for fast deployment. It’s also noteworthy that there’s more asymmetry in the units available to both sides than there were in earlier Undaunted games. The scouts available to the corporate player, for instance, move faster but have more limited attack options compared to their mining counterparts. This minor asymmetry is a welcome addition, making trying out each side in a scenario a much more interesting prospect.

Despite the sci-fi trappings, and the presence of mechs and laser turrets, this still feels like a pre-modern skirmish game. There are no awesomely powerful sci-fi weapons to leverage on either side, no cool technologies to harness, just re-themed rifles and machine guns. This, of course, betrays the roots of the game in World War Two. It doesn’t really spoil the game – getting up close and personal enhances the tactical options available, and you could make the same arguments about perhaps the most popular sci-fi tabletop game around, Warhammer 40k – but some players may find it disappointing.

The solo version plays well, although the overhead in following simple flowcharts for each unit, specific to each scenario, is a bit of a pain. The payoff is a mute enemy that makes tactically sensible choices, often offering clues as to the best way to approach any given scenario. There’s also a new team game for four which works surprisingly well, in which the troops on each side are subdivided into two decks, with teammates swapping the lead role in bidding for initiative each time. Splitting forces like this makes the chances of piecing together combos you might need in any given turn less likely, can be frustrating but also very exciting, and leads to emergent co-operative decision-making.

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