Undaunted 2200: Callisto series leaves Earth’s petty problems behind, previews its Gen Con debut

Historical war games are a bit in a Safety net at the moment. While the mechanics of the genre, particularly in the tabletop world, continue to evolve in exciting ways, the factions on the tabletop can be particularly daunting to modern audiences. That’s why the designers of the critically acclaimed Undaunted series (Fearless: Normandy, Undaunted: Stalingrad) have decided to leave our planet completely. Dauntless 2200: Callisto Set on one of Jupiter’s moons, The Adventures of Jupiter debuts this week at Gen Con. Polygon had an exclusive preview earlier this summer, and we were pretty excited about the direction the series is going — even though it’s over half a million miles from home.

Of course, such a change of setting did not come about without careful consideration by designers David Thompson and Trevor Benjamin, as well as publisher Osprey Games.

“Dauntless 2200: Callisto “is absolutely a response to significant public calls to push the system to a new theme,” the team wrote in a shared statement. “Over the years, we’ve learned how to tweak and push Undaunted in many ways that we never could have anticipated with the original Normandy design. (…) It was just a matter of building a setting that felt consistent with what Undaunted has evolved into and mirroring that with existing and new mechanics.”

In Fearless 2200One player controls the corporate security force, acting on behalf of a well-funded mining conglomerate. This rigid and sterile militant faction consists of faceless grunts and support weapons who can deliver a great deal of firepower and intimidation with their armored mech units. On the other side of the battlefield are the miners, a ragtag force wielding improvised weapons and modified industrial vehicles. Their troops are given names instead of numbers, and they fight to improve their own well-being. As in previous iterations of the Undaunted formula, these combatants are represented by cards that are added to each player’s deck during the game and later played to the table to activate them. Although the setting is sci-fi, the situation is familiar and represents a realistic extension of the human experience.

“We knew from the beginning that we wanted the setting to feel grounded, raw and realistic,” the developers said during our Table top simulator demo. “That approach felt much more in line with the historical (…) roots of Undaunted than some fantastical, soft sci-fi concept.”

At its core, this new title plays very much like its predecessors. The system still combines the popular card game mechanic of deckbuilding with the traditional wargame framework of moving squads around a central board. It’s still a quick 45-60 minute game to complete, but it also adds a lot of new features. Such as Fearless: Normandys direct sequels, the changes here are more incremental than radical. Many of the maps feature a new elevation mechanic. These spaces increase the chance of success when attacking or suppressing enemy units from above, creating tactical focal points on the map that focus the action and fuel the conflict.

Image: Osprey Games

Image: Osprey Games

The rules for transport vehicles are also simple but effective. Units like the mining union trucks can carry ground troops as they move, allowing them to quickly traverse the battlefield and respond to shifts in the front line. They also improve the ability to capture and defend control points, a key objective in most scenarios.

The heavy mech units are one of my favorite additions. These vehicles are multi-crewed, with each operator represented by a separate card. When you add mech cards to your deck, you can choose which of the two you want to add and adjust your approach to different strategic options, such as focusing on mobility or attacking. Besides the mechanical impact, this is a really nice touch that captures how these vehicles work and how they operate. It also helps to show their impact, as they are absolutely devastating on the battlefield and cannot be damaged without anti-armor weapons.

When playing Dauntless 2200: CallistoI was impressed with how smoothly and seamlessly the game transitioned into its new fictional setting. The abstraction of complex detail into the system allows for a malleable engine that can model conflict in countless situations. The core concept of human struggle, fueled by a card system that captures the fog of war and logistical elements, remains compelling and relevant, both socially and from a modern gameplay perspective. This also looks to be one of the most polished entries in the series, with team and even solitaire play available right out of the box.

Image: Osprey Games

One concern I had was whether this design duo would continue to be enthusiastic about Undaunted after working on so many titles in just a few short years. Playing this new release, as well as Benjamin’s reaction, put that concern to rest.

“The shift to sci-fi not only allowed us to approach the system from a new perspective — it required it,” the designers said. “We spent a lot of time early in the design process talking about what it meant thematically and mechanically to move Undaunted into sci-fi, and those early conceptual discussions were really exciting for us.”

Dauntless 2200: Callisto will debut at Gen Con and cost $85. A wider retail release will follow in September.