Designers David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin are back with a new entry into the Undaunted series. Kind of. It’s not set in WWII. It doesn’t even carry the Undaunted branding. But this title does find itself firmly planted in the Undaunted 2200: Callisto universe. Set in space, battle over resources, and interference cards. It’s a spin-off!
Line of Fire: Burnt Moon offers a new direction for the Osprey Games published product line. It strips the system down to its core, allowing the gameplay to focus even more directly on deckbuilding in a head-to-head battle over the moon of Io. Let’s see if this new offering is a worthy new direction for designer and publisher alike.
Gameplay Overview:
If you’ve played an Undaunted game in the past, you can navigate much of this game without a rulebook. Players have a starting deck of cards, a supply of potential additions sorted by type, and are centrally focused on controlling territory to win. This is a two-player only system, one that should play in thirty to forty-five minutes. And it’s very easy to set up.
Setup revolves around randomizing five identical site locations for each player. These are randomized each game, which creates interesting site matchups each session. The goal is to control eight points worth of territory. And if that’s not going your way, you can also try to eliminate the opponent’s control-type units (MOSS) for an elimination victory.
There are several unit types broken down into two categories: Personnel and ROV (Remote Operated Vehicles). Starting personnel cards are never played to a site but can assist with bolstering your deck or providing additional cards, or even the ability to withdraw units. Players can also add new personnel cards that provide powerful effects, such as disrupting or removing enemy units.
The ROV cards feature four types: MOSS, xED, TIR, and DaCU. Each of these are split into A and B units. Sites have a forced cohesion rule that requires units of the same type to be played together. And certain units, when played to a site, add interference cards to your deck, which become a nuisance as they do not provide a benefit.
Players draw four cards each round, choose one to be their initiative card, and flip this choice over to compare to their opponent’s choice. The higher value card determines initiative, with ties keeping this the same. The remaining three cards become available actions. Once ROV units are in place at sites, duplicate versions of those cards allow players to take actions with the on-site units.
Actions that can be taken range from attacking opponent cards in the same lane, building or destroying fortifications, removing interference cards from hand, and controlling a lane if the player has more units in place than their opponent. Control can be shifted to the other side, and this creates bottlenecks based on the value of each territory (which range from one to three in value). Units can also have a Move keyword and can be shifted to new lanes if necessary to attempt to take new territory or reinforce a nearby battle.
Attacking opponents comes down to a value identifier between opposing units. You may choose to attack an opponent’s MOSS unit with one ROV card on your side. To do so, add up attack values from your ROV and any boosts from site or other ROV cards, and compare this to the defense value of your opponent’s card (and potentially site). A defender loss inflicts a casualty, which removes the same card type from the discard pile, or if not present there, from hand, and if not present there, then the unit is removed from the lane.
Game Experience:
Burnt Moon is Undaunted distilled. It takes away the central map, the dice for attacking, and any complicated objectives. Gameplay is hyper focused when compared to those games. You are building your deck to control territory and fire off actions with your units at sites. As with all Undaunted games, everything comes down to how you manage your deck.
For someone who has played quite a few of the Undaunted series games, I do enjoy the focused approach here. I can be mindful of my options while keeping the tug-of-war battle between five locations in the forefront. And I can be more mindful of my opponent’s options as well. As such, this becomes a tense battle where each round’s card drawn becomes super important. It doesn’t take much to have control wrestled away from you.
Finding new avenues to build your deck while being observant of your opponent’s choices and the randomization of site tiles is excellent. There’s enough replay value here with that in mind. It helps that the combat has been simplified (for the most part), and each card that is played to a site features condensed information to allow them to be stacked appropriately.
Another idea present here that I truly enjoyed was the addition of personnel cards that are removed from your deck after using their powers. Of course, these powers can be game-changing, allowing you to snipe at units without having to evaluate attack numbers, or disrupting units and putting a halt to progress. The puzzle of when to use these adds a fun element to the deckbuilding.
I do think that the space setting caused some issues in the design. First and foremost, the ROV card names have no context and feel abstract. I noticed this as well in Battle of Britain and Callisto (previous Undaunted titles) where the units become less personal. Here we have MOSS and xED units that have certain functions, but the names don’t lend to helping understand. A definite miss.
Another area that could use some work is refining the visual space. The ROV cards are split into two teams of A and B, but these cards feature the same colors. Why not diversify this one step further? Then there are icons that provide attack bonuses. These require players to take a moment to step away from the battle to confirm during attacks. It’s a minor element that takes getting used to but can be overcome with repeat plays.
Gametime on the box states thirty minutes. I’ve found that some games can go quite longer as players vie for control, overstuff their decks, and must shift focus from territory control to removing MOSS units to win. Of course, this can go the other way as well, when a player cannot draw into the cards they need to counter aggressive play and lose quickly. But that’s less of an issue over time as players begin to understand their playstyles.
Final Thoughts:
I can sense a new direction for the Undaunted designers. Burnt Moon, from the Line of Fire series, feels like the jumping off point of a new endeavor. As such, the design feels like it must work out some growing pains to truly find its footing. Most of this comes in the form of finding a new setting to work with. And then turning that setting into an even more consistent and understandable iconography and design. The deckbuilding has always been solid for this design team. I’m excited to see where this takes them. Hopefully, this does not become another space series, but instead a combat-oriented series that steps even further away from titles of the past. I’m still waiting for the theming to get wild and shake off some of the historical/warfare trappings.
Final Score: 3.5 stars – Undaunted evolves into a new product line that focuses on deckbuilding and lane control.
Hits:
• Undaunted distilled
• Site tile randomization
• Simplified combat
• Compact card information
Misses:
• Card naming choice
• Iconography/design issues
• Can overstay welcome
• Not a fan of setting
