Vanguard: Normandy

Set during the Normandy Campaign of World War Two, Vanguard places players in control of USA and German forces fighting to defeat one another in a desperate and high-stakes struggle for the French mainland. The huge range of US and German forces fighting in the Normandy Campaign is represented by beautiful miniatures and bespoke unit cards, which handily track special rules for a streamlined playing experience. These units are entirely unique, each featuring distinct rules, attack profiles, and artwork inspired by the design team’s passion for history. Combat is fast-paced and intuitive, thanks to a streamlined dice system that eliminates complex calculations and line-of-sight mechanics. Vanguard’s unit activation is both fun and intense. Players add Faction Tokens to a shared Activation Bag for each unit they control, before drawing tokens randomly to determine the order these units activate. This system creates nail-biting, cinematic gameplay where players are never sure which units will activate first! Vanguard also features a dynamic army-building system. Both players start with limited forces and a requisition income, building up their army and economy over the course of the game through the control of battlefield sectors. The more sectors a player controls, the more resources their forces receive—but if the Victory Point gap grows too wide, the trailing player can unleash powerful Underdog abilities to even the odds. Setting up the battlefield is quick and simple. By arranging nine of the 15 double-sided battlefield tiles into a grid, players can create a visually stunning and unique play area in seconds. Each tile features beautifully detailed artwork depicting historical locations from D-Day and the Normandy Campaign, including airfields, radar stations, manors, farms, and more. The solo campaign allows a single player to fight through a historical campaign as the USA, battling across six historical engagements against a fiendish German AI opponent.

Players: 1–2 best 2
Playing time: 90–120 min
Age: 14+