Vanguard: Normandy Kickstarter date announced

October 31, 2024 | Troy Hill | Gaming, Warlord Games

the vanguard normandy boardgame laid out ready to play

Story and images courtesy Warlord Games

Vanguard goes live on KickStarter!

Warlord Games are excited to announce that Vanguard: Normandy goes live on Kickstarter at 2pm GMT on 5th November 2024. Vanguard: Normandy is the ultimate World War II board game, bringing the key mechanics of our award-winning Bolt Action to the world of board gaming.

Navigate the fog of war, manage vital resources, and make swift tactical decisions in this 1-4 player World War II board game. Note that Vanguard: Normandy is in active development. All images shown are of pre-production prototypes and may not necessarily reflect the quality of the final product.

A 3D render of the box for the gameVanguard: Normandy features:

  • A WW2 backdrop – fight across the fields and towns of Normandy in 1944.
  • Bolt Action style mechanics to create a unique gaming experience.
  • 1 – 4 player action including a full solo-play mode following the real battles of the US Army.
  • Historically inspired multiplayer campaign missions.
  • 50+ WW2 gaming pieces including armoured vehicles
  • No glue or paint required – gaming pieces are pre-assembled.
  • A huge variety of troops and board tile combinations to ensure no two games are the same. Contents of the box:
  • 50+ Detailed gaming pieces for the USA and Germany
  • 15 Double-sided interlocking hex gaming boards
  • Detailed unit information cards
  • Full colour rules and campaign book
  • Full colour punchboards
  • Custom Dice
  • Wooden Counters

Want exclusive goodies? Go to vanguardboardgame.com and sign up to the Vanguard: Normandy mailing list before the Kickstarter goes live. Once you then make a pledge, you’ll receive an exclusive dice tray featuring amazing game artwork upon fulfilment.

You can read an overview of the game by Warlord’s own Marcus Vine here.

What is Vanguard: Normandy?

Part of the board game, that shows cards and card holders for the US playerVanguard: Normandy offers all of the depth, tactics and strategy elements of Bolt Action, adapting its trademark Order Dice and Pinning mechanics effectively to create a unique board game experience. Players will capture objectives, gain different types of Requisition points and use them to deploy their forces. The first player to score 100 Victory Points will win the game, earning those points by controlling sectors of the battlefield.

You can explore the game in an article on the Warlord Games Community page here:

The game focuses on the struggle between the US and German armies as they battle for victory in Normandy during the summer of 1944. Each side will have access to a large variety of troops, vehicles, and armour, represented by the fantastically detailed, pre-assembled gaming pieces, that they will use to capture key objectives. The reversible hex map tiles have millions of possible combinations, ensuring no two battlefields are alike, and feature a wide range of terrain features, from roads, hills, and woodlands to towns and villages.

You can find the sign-up to be notified when the Kickstarter goes live, at this link.

Why make a board game?

Not everyone wants to assemble and paint miniatures before they play a game, so we’re taking those obstacles away for Vanguard: Normandy whilst creating a board game that still feels like Bolt Action.

By adapting the unit activation and pin mechanisms, the game will have a familiarity to Bolt Action players – the rest of the game, however, is brand new.

The box will have over 50 detailed gaming pieces to represent the different units that can be deployed in the game, each with their own specific rules and abilities. Players will manage their resources, capture strategic objectives, deploy and fight battles with their forces against the backdrop of the Normandy invasion.

The turn sequence uses Bolt Action’s random turn mechanism to represent the ‘fog of war’. Will you get the next turn and implement your cunning plan, or will your opponent throw a spanner in the works and unravel your best laid plans?

We want everyone to be as passionate about historical wargaming as we are – and this extends into board games. Bolt Action is an award-winning game system, and we want to take that core and ethos forward into the world of board games! Why Kickstarter? Vanguard: Normandy is Warlord’s very first Kickstarter.

Dice Tray featuring an image of a German Tiger tankWith Kickstarter, we’re trying something completely different. Although we are established in the wargaming industry, we’re still a small UK-based company. Our expertise is in wargaming, selling miniatures and rules to people all over the world from our HQ in Nottingham.

Kickstarter helps us reach new audiences much further afield, such as boardgamers, alongside fans who have been playing our games for years more than any other platform.

We know Kickstarter is full of people who are passionate about gaming, so we want to showcase our new venture, Vanguard: Normandy, there first! With the vast majority of the game developed, all money raised on the Kickstarter will be used to fund the manufacturing and distribution of Vanguard: Normandy.

The game is live on Kickstart from 5th November.  SIGN UP ON KICKSTARTER TO BE NOTIFIED AS SOON AS THE CAMPAIGN GOES LIVE