Guiscard 2: The Varangian Guard

About this board game

Guiscard 2: The Varangian Guard is a 2-player skirmish-level board wargame listed for 2–4 players, with an approximately 180-minute playing time. It recreates the Norman conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily in the eleventh century, led by Robert Guiscard—“the cunning” or “the weasel.”

The game brings together the major factions caught in the region’s conflicting interests: the Byzantines, the Arabs of Sicily, the Lombards, the Germans, and the Normans. The Normans arrive as mercenaries, then seek to seize power by force of arms. This setting gives each scenario a sharp historical context rooted in rivalry, invasion, and shifting power.

Designed for players who want the experience of Cry Havoc but can no longer find an original box, Guiscard 2 expands on the first edition released in 2013. It includes thicker counter boards, a new map, additional counters, revised rules, and a campaign game.

• 14 tactical scenarios, including four entirely new scenarios
• New scenarios featuring the Byzantine emperors’ Varangian Guard
• Four campaign scenarios set across Sicily and Apulia
• Campaign maps for Sicily and Apulia, plus the map of The Chapel
• A completely revised rulebook with extensive clarifications

The included historical background and scenario booklet supports both individual engagements and longer campaigns. Three double-sided play sheets and newly printed components complete the updated edition, making it a substantial version of the Norman Saga series.

For owners of the original game, an upgrade kit provides the revised materials, thick cardboard counter sheets, maps, play sheets, and scenario content. Whether played as a focused tactical battle or across a campaign, Guiscard 2 presents the Norman conquest through a broad cast of competing medieval powers.