Andrew Fairley began developing Fields of Valour as a personal exploration of battlefield storytelling, a way to capture the clarity, pace and tactile decision‑making of classic hex‑based wargames. Drawing on decades of gaming experience across board wargames, strategy titles and solitaire systems, he set out to build something deliberately compact: a turn‑based battlefield that feels more like a physical tabletop scenario than a sprawling digital simulation. Working alone from his small studio in Cheshire, he started shaping maps, mechanics and unit behaviours with the same documentary‑style curiosity that drives him as a designer: an obsession with how battles unfold, how small tactical choices cascade into larger outcomes, and how history can be retold through clean, readable systems.

What began as rough sketches, paper prototypes and late‑night coding sessions gradually evolved into Fields of Valour: Normandy, the first entry in a planned series of historical battles. Andrew refined the hex engine, experimented with solitaire‑style decision loops, and focused on making each scenario feel tight, replayable and grounded in real engagements without drowning the player in complexity. The work demanded patience, iteration and a willingness to rebuild entire systems when they didn’t serve the experience, a freedom only a solo developer truly has.

Today Fields of Valour has grown into a fully fledged solo development venture, with Andrew designing, coding and producing every element himself. Normandy is only the beginning: the engine is built to expand into new theatres, battles and eras, each offering a boardgame‑like experience shaped by clarity rather than heavy simulation. For Andrew, Fields of Valour isn’t just a game, it’s proof that one developer, working with focus and intent, can still create historical strategy experiences that feel personal, purposeful and richly replayable.