You've been consistently covering games I'm interested in and your delivery/pace is great with limited time I have. Roll Player Adventures, Undaunted Reinforcements, Arkham, solo games (hopefully this will encourage more solo game design). Subscribing. Would've been sick to have team vs autonoma for folks not into competitive gaming
I think they sort of do? I think there are expansion scenarios that are 2v2, so you could cobble the automa into that… or maybe I’m totally making this up, but I thought I heard something like that :)
I already have North Africa and some of that swinginess and especially using suppression repeatedly is in the two player game too for sure. Not sure I would have bought it just for the solo but definitely love having an option for that now!
Can the official variant be played without Reinforcement components? (Base Normandy only). And if so, would you recommend it over your variant? I have Normandy, I don't need all the content from the reinforcements, but I want a good solo game out of it.
No, you need to buy Reinforcements. It comes with a ton of big tarot cards to control the behavior of the automa in each scenario. And personally I like my solo better for Normandy. It's more fiddly to run, to be sure, but it scouts more intelligently and bolsters more intelligently, whereas for the official one they made it dumber and kind of brute forced their way through some of the situations that arise. But of course I'm biased!
Thanks for the pros and cons, Mike. I can totally see how AI would take second to PvP in a game like this. Just got my preorder in this weekend, so I'll give it a run to see how it goes. Keep up the good work!
Hello Mike, i own only the undaunted: Normandy would you recommend me to purchase the expansion reinforcements or no? Is it worth it if you only own the Normandy? Thx in advance
That depends. The expansion adds some units and scenarios, so it definitely adds a lot to competitive play. If you are getting the expansion just for solo, I might recommend trying my solo variant first. It’s VERY similar to the expansion solo mode, and it’s free :)
I’m just starting to get into the war game theme.. the only one I have right now is warfighter (the modern one) which I enjoy. Any other suggestions pertaining to war games? Preferably solo. Great review as usual Mike.
If you just getting into them, I think other David Thompson designs are a great place to start. For example, his Valiant Defenders series (castle itter, Pavlov’s house, etc) is excellent.
Thanks for the review! Still debating whether to get Reinforcements. Also, does this mean you’d be willing to take a crack at a solo variant for North Africa? :)
Actually, now that I played theirs, I’m less likely to do one. Seeing the added complications of the vehicles, demolition versus control, etc make things tough, and on top of that I wouldn’t want to accidentally copy the official solo for NA now that I’ve played it
Kinda disappointed since I trust your judgement. I am a solo gamer so, Is it still worth getting or do you recommend something else instead? WW2 theme of course 🙂
It’s still fun, so I don’t want to say you should NOT give it a chance. But that said, if you want a great WW2-themed solo game, check out the valiant defense series from one of the same designers (David Thompson). The games are Pavlov’s House, Castle Itter, Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms, and the upcoming Lanzerath Ridge. We’ve covered all of them (well, lanzerath video is coming soon).
@@OneStopCoopShop Battle of Lanzerath Ridge! Damn that sounds very cool and up my alley. WW2, paratroopers in the battle of the bulge!! Thanks Mike. :)
Great, concise video as always! Curious what your favorite solo wargame is? I started with wargames, but have expanded beyond, so am extremely picky now.
Hmmmm, it would probably be between one of the COIN games (I really like Pendragon) or the Valiant Defenders series (Castle Itter is maybe my fave there, though I really like the upcoming Lanzerath Ridge).
I think I’ll stick with just the Normandy set and your solo rules. Also saw on bgg there some major card matching issues/quality control on a bunch of 1st edition copies.
Yeah, pretty major card issues, though the publisher has announced that they are sending free replacements to anyone who buys the game, so not as much to worry about in the long run
I think I started pronouncing it differently in later videos. But also, in my defense, I just looked at a bunch of different sites and videos, and there is a British pronunciation, an American pronunciation, an original Italian pronunciation... so... yeah, I wouldn't worry much about it :)
@@OneStopCoopShop That's true, but still none with the vowels reversed. The Italian pronunciation is "ow-toh-mah", the English pronunciation is "ah-toh-mah", and the American pronunciation is either the same as the English, but "ah-doh-muh" works as well. I will admit though, maybe even a majority of content creators switch the vowels. Notably Rahdo says "oh-tah-mah". So copying the way others say it in the board game industry is a recipe for mispronouncing the word.
After trying both automata between yours and the official one, based on my experience the official one is leaps and bounds better. I felt like you got a bit too critical because of your experience tackling to make your own solo mode, but that is a good perspective to have as a reviewer. A huge plus for me is that the AI changes based for each scenarios which you failed to mention at all. Sad that its getting a mixed spotlight.
Thank you for the review!
Great coverage.
Thanks!
You've been consistently covering games I'm interested in and your delivery/pace is great with limited time I have. Roll Player Adventures, Undaunted Reinforcements, Arkham, solo games (hopefully this will encourage more solo game design). Subscribing.
Would've been sick to have team vs autonoma for folks not into competitive gaming
I think they sort of do? I think there are expansion scenarios that are 2v2, so you could cobble the automa into that… or maybe I’m totally making this up, but I thought I heard something like that :)
I have been anxiously awaiting Reinforcements. Now....I don't know.
Yeahhh, me too. I’m still happy to have it, but the excitement has faded a fair bit.
I already have North Africa and some of that swinginess and especially using suppression repeatedly is in the two player game too for sure. Not sure I would have bought it just for the solo but definitely love having an option for that now!
Absolutely, it’s not a solo-only phenomenon. And a lot of it is scenario-based
Can the official variant be played without Reinforcement components? (Base Normandy only). And if so, would you recommend it over your variant?
I have Normandy, I don't need all the content from the reinforcements, but I want a good solo game out of it.
No, you need to buy Reinforcements. It comes with a ton of big tarot cards to control the behavior of the automa in each scenario.
And personally I like my solo better for Normandy. It's more fiddly to run, to be sure, but it scouts more intelligently and bolsters more intelligently, whereas for the official one they made it dumber and kind of brute forced their way through some of the situations that arise.
But of course I'm biased!
Thanks for the pros and cons, Mike. I can totally see how AI would take second to PvP in a game like this. Just got my preorder in this weekend, so I'll give it a run to see how it goes. Keep up the good work!
Hope you have a great time with it!!
Hello Mike, i own only the undaunted: Normandy would you recommend me to purchase the expansion reinforcements or no? Is it worth it if you only own the Normandy?
Thx in advance
That depends. The expansion adds some units and scenarios, so it definitely adds a lot to competitive play. If you are getting the expansion just for solo, I might recommend trying my solo variant first. It’s VERY similar to the expansion solo mode, and it’s free :)
@@OneStopCoopShop thanks for the answer. I'm thinking of getting the game for both the solo and the competitive. I've seen your solo variant. Good job
I’m just starting to get into the war game theme.. the only one I have right now is warfighter (the modern one) which I enjoy. Any other suggestions pertaining to war games? Preferably solo. Great review as usual Mike.
If you just getting into them, I think other David Thompson designs are a great place to start. For example, his Valiant Defenders series (castle itter, Pavlov’s house, etc) is excellent.
@@OneStopCoopShop oh ok thank you so much! I’ll definitely check these out. God bless buddy
Thanks for the review! Still debating whether to get Reinforcements. Also, does this mean you’d be willing to take a crack at a solo variant for North Africa? :)
Actually, now that I played theirs, I’m less likely to do one. Seeing the added complications of the vehicles, demolition versus control, etc make things tough, and on top of that I wouldn’t want to accidentally copy the official solo for NA now that I’ve played it
Kinda disappointed since I trust your judgement. I am a solo gamer so, Is it still worth getting or do you recommend something else instead? WW2 theme of course 🙂
It’s still fun, so I don’t want to say you should NOT give it a chance.
But that said, if you want a great WW2-themed solo game, check out the valiant defense series from one of the same designers (David Thompson). The games are Pavlov’s House, Castle Itter, Soldiers in Postmen’s Uniforms, and the upcoming Lanzerath Ridge. We’ve covered all of them (well, lanzerath video is coming soon).
@@OneStopCoopShop Battle of Lanzerath Ridge! Damn that sounds very cool and up my alley. WW2, paratroopers in the battle of the bulge!! Thanks Mike. :)
I’ll have a video of it when the KS launches. It’s either early January or February
Great, concise video as always! Curious what your favorite solo wargame is? I started with wargames, but have expanded beyond, so am extremely picky now.
Hmmmm, it would probably be between one of the COIN games (I really like Pendragon) or the Valiant Defenders series (Castle Itter is maybe my fave there, though I really like the upcoming Lanzerath Ridge).
Curious to know where Warfighter falls in the mix for you is that your favourite war card game?
Warfighter is a lot of fun. I’m excited for fantasy to finally ship.
I think I’ll stick with just the Normandy set and your solo rules. Also saw on bgg there some major card matching issues/quality control on a bunch of 1st edition copies.
Yeah, pretty major card issues, though the publisher has announced that they are sending free replacements to anyone who buys the game, so not as much to worry about in the long run
@@OneStopCoopShop Where did you read that? Want a replacement and cant find that :/
Details here - boardgamegeek.com/thread/2773104/osprey-games-update-card-back-issues
@@OneStopCoopShop Thanks a lot!
You’re reversing the vowels in “automa”. You’re saying “oh-tah-mah”. But it’s “ah-toh-mah”.
I think I started pronouncing it differently in later videos.
But also, in my defense, I just looked at a bunch of different sites and videos, and there is a British pronunciation, an American pronunciation, an original Italian pronunciation... so... yeah, I wouldn't worry much about it :)
@@OneStopCoopShop That's true, but still none with the vowels reversed. The Italian pronunciation is "ow-toh-mah", the English pronunciation is "ah-toh-mah", and the American pronunciation is either the same as the English, but "ah-doh-muh" works as well.
I will admit though, maybe even a majority of content creators switch the vowels. Notably Rahdo says "oh-tah-mah". So copying the way others say it in the board game industry is a recipe for mispronouncing the word.
@@shanerion well in any case, I'll try to pick one of those :)
@@OneStopCoopShop And I know I sound like I'm nitpicking here. Sorry! I love the channel. Look forward to watching more great content.
After trying both automata between yours and the official one, based on my experience the official one is leaps and bounds better. I felt like you got a bit too critical because of your experience tackling to make your own solo mode, but that is a good perspective to have as a reviewer. A huge plus for me is that the AI changes based for each scenarios which you failed to mention at all. Sad that its getting a mixed spotlight.
Glad you are enjoying it!
Good game but not so good for solo
I think it can work with the automa or playing both sides, but yes, 1v1 tactical games like this will always be best with a real opponent :)