Buy Undaunted: North Africa if you are buying one: Osprey states 30-45 minutes against Normandy's 45-60, so it fits weeknights better. Buy Normandy if the European theater appeals or you want longer scenarios. Both are two-player-only and standalone; the prices move independently, so check both buttons below.
We earn a commission when you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It does not change which games we recommend or what we say about them. How this site is funded.
These are the two most-recommended entry points into two-player war gaming, they use the same system, and they are both standalone. That combination makes this a genuinely confusing purchase, because most comparisons in this hobby are between different games.
The honest summary: it is one game with two campaigns sold separately, and the deciding factor is running time.
What is genuinely the same
The core system is unchanged. Your deck is your squad, each card is an individual soldier, and casualties permanently remove cards from your deck for the rest of the scenario. Fog of war comes from your own draw rather than from hidden movement, and both maps are fully open to both players.
Both teach through a campaign booklet that introduces units gradually. If you have played either, you can play the other immediately -- there is no second rules hurdle.
03What actually differs
Running time is the real difference and the reason to care. Thirty to forty-five minutes fits after dinner on a weeknight; forty-five to sixty needs the evening set aside. Over a year that decides how often a box gets opened.
Terrain changes the feel more than the rules. The desert maps are more open, with less cover to work with, which pushes both sides toward committing earlier. Normandy's hedgerows reward patience and positioning. Neither is better; they encourage different habits.
North Africa also ships more map tiles (22 against 18) in a slightly smaller card count, which reflects its wider, faster scenarios.
The picks in full
2 players · 30-45 minutes · ages 14+
The same engine as Normandy, fifteen minutes shorter, and the better buy if you only want one of the two.
A two-player-only deck-building war game and standalone sequel to Undaunted: Normandy. Desert warfare across a campaign, with 100+ cards, 22 large map tiles, 4 dice and tokens. Shorter scenarios than Normandy at 30-45 minutes.
- 2
- 30-45 minutes
- 14+
- David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin
- Osprey Games
Skip it if you already own Normandy and expected something new. The core system is identical -- this is a different theater, not a different game.
Specs from Undaunted: North Africa - Osprey Games (publisher).
Undaunted: Normandy
2 players · 45-60 minutes · ages 14+
The best two-player war game in print, and the only one on this list that teaches deck-building and squad tactics at the same time.
A two-player-only deck-building war game. Each side commands American or German forces across a campaign of World War II scenarios, with 108 cards, 18 large map tiles, dice and tokens. Your deck is your squad, and losses thin it permanently.
- 2
- 45-60 minutes
- 14+
- David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin
- Osprey Games
- 2019
Skip it if losing a unit permanently for the rest of a scenario will frustrate you. Casualties remove cards from your deck, so a bad turn keeps costing you.
Specs from Undaunted: Normandy - Osprey Games (publisher).
