I used to play Hunt for Red October as a "limited intelligence" game over the phone with two friends. Each of us used a copy of the game in his own house, with all movement areas being identically numbered. One player would take the Soviet side, one the Nato and the third would be the umpire/referee. The USSR and Nato players would only see their own units and those enemy ones discovered through search or combat. Each side would plan their moves, then call them in to the umpire (who could see all units on his board). He would determine the results of all search and combat actions, then update each player about what had happened. This helped make the detection and combat mechanics less cumbersome. Using scenario 8 with full fleets on both sides made for a much more entertaining game than the shorter ones or the "Red October" sub chase. When we eventually tired of the game, I purchased my friends' copies and still have all three in my collection. Haven't played in quite awhile, but your video has re-awakened my interest...thanks!
Used to play this when I was younger. I have a few comments. In the example you ran the soviet ship would have been placed on the battle board during step 1: Initial Target Placement. Also, a unit gets to attack once per combat - either in the attack first or the attack second portion. When a unit attacks, it reveals itself and becomes detected. This allows enemy units placed in "attack second" to target that unit. Generally, undetected units would prefer to "attack second". This means they can get their shots in and not be subjected to enemy fire (a classic naval ambush). However, units shooting during "attack first" deal their damage before the "attack second" step. So in complex battles a player may choose to attack with their detected units right away in order to inflict max damage and limit the enemy's return fire. Finally, if you manage to grab a copy of Red Storm Rising (TSR's land warfare WW3 game) you can play a very fun grand campaign where you combine both games together. The naval game is all about NATO attempting to push its convoy's through to Europe and deliver vital land reinforcements before the Warsaw Pact forces over-run Germany. Air unit markers can even be transferred between theaters. Great fun for 4 people.
Just found this thread and enjoyed the read. I owned both of these board games but never thought about combining the two for a grand campaign. Even had the players on hand to accomplish this. What a great idea.
We merged the two games into the grand campaign several times back when I was in the 10-13yo range. Flippin' outstanding, though it took a while to get through. I think there were 2 Red Storm Rising rounds for every 1 HfRO. Unfortunately, I think it would be a hard sell to that same age range today as (imho) the Cold War doesn't generate strong emotions in those who never experienced it to some degree. (and now for the embarrassing bit of realization that I replied to this same thread two years ago!)
Quick comment: when it comes to "counter clutter"...give me more, give me more. Playing solitaire (especially scenarios of one's own devising) always benefits from having more options to select from than less. Players can always cobble together 'off map' displays to reduce mapboard congestion...whenever I play AH's 'Rise and Decline of the Third Reich' I usually utilize two mapboards. One for ground unit movement/combat and a separate one for aero/naval operations. If you lack for room...buy a bigger house. Our hobby demands respect! Thank you for the review. Always loved the counters and Task Force boards from this game. RIP Tom Clancy. PS - Was gratified to see in the Comments that other folks were interested in Clancy's follow-up 'Red Storm Rising'. Epic piece of literature (as is 'Hunt for Red October'') which conjures up several intriguing scenarios re WWIII. Cheers!
I had this in 8th grade. I re-bought a copy a couple of years ago (along with TSR's Line in The Sand and Red Storm Rising), and thanks to the airing of the film this afternoon and this video, I'll be pulling it out to see what it's got tonight. Thanks, Gilbert!
Thank you for making this video to demonstrate how this game is played and how the board and pieces look. Thinking about buying it off of eBay as I am a huge fan of the movie.
I wish they had created the game with hidden movement. Even though you can use blank counter to fool your opponent, the effect isn't significant enough to make this game challenging.
Hi Gilbert. Love your video series. I just got an opened but un-punched copy of TSR's "Red Storm Rising" and a brand new copy of TSR's "Hunt for the Red October". I understand you're in the NCR so if ever you ever want to have a match, let me know! Cheers, Eric
Being a movie buff myself I have both of those movies. "The Bedford Incident" is particularly interesting. I think what turned me off from the game "Red October" was the apparent counter clutter. The Task forces mitigated this to some degree.
IIRC, when tied together as the super-game (Hunt and Red Storm combined), Red Storm played two rounds for every one round of Hunt and aircraft could be used in both (there was a conversion factor - something like two chits in one of the games equaled one chit in the other). Also, convoys across the N Atlantic through Hunt determined NATO reinforcements in Red Storm. Good stuff and super-cool, especially as one of my first wargames outside of Risk when I played it back in the early 90s in that 10-11 age range.
Hey James. Its very likely I made some mistakes in the Battle procedure, which I'm still not clear on to tell you the truth. The rules are a little vague on this,
You are a Civil War enthusiast; how about a review of "Across Five Aprils?" I understand you do not like the chit-pull feature but your opinion would be of interest.
Good movie, "The Hunt For Red October". The game is okay, but for me maybe too many counters. I can't help thinking of another movie "The Bedford Incident" (1965) which again is a good movie (a sort of cold war version of Moby Dick). Any game based on that picture would have very few counters.
I used to play Hunt for Red October as a "limited intelligence" game over the phone with two friends. Each of us used a copy of the game in his own house, with all movement areas being identically numbered. One player would take the Soviet side, one the Nato and the third would be the umpire/referee. The USSR and Nato players would only see their own units and those enemy ones discovered through search or combat. Each side would plan their moves, then call them in to the umpire (who could see all units on his board). He would determine the results of all search and combat actions, then update each player about what had happened. This helped make the detection and combat mechanics less cumbersome. Using scenario 8 with full fleets on both sides made for a much more entertaining game than the shorter ones or the "Red October" sub chase. When we eventually tired of the game, I purchased my friends' copies and still have all three in my collection. Haven't played in quite awhile, but your video has re-awakened my interest...thanks!
The A-6 is the Intruder was an attack plane.......the "Hawk" is an E-2 Hawkeye (AWACS).
Used to play this when I was younger. I have a few comments. In the example you ran the soviet ship would have been placed on the battle board during step 1: Initial Target Placement. Also, a unit gets to attack once per combat - either in the attack first or the attack second portion. When a unit attacks, it reveals itself and becomes detected. This allows enemy units placed in "attack second" to target that unit.
Generally, undetected units would prefer to "attack second". This means they can get their shots in and not be subjected to enemy fire (a classic naval ambush). However, units shooting during "attack first" deal their damage before the "attack second" step. So in complex battles a player may choose to attack with their detected units right away in order to inflict max damage and limit the enemy's return fire.
Finally, if you manage to grab a copy of Red Storm Rising (TSR's land warfare WW3 game) you can play a very fun grand campaign where you combine both games together. The naval game is all about NATO attempting to push its convoy's through to Europe and deliver vital land reinforcements before the Warsaw Pact forces over-run Germany. Air unit markers can even be transferred between theaters. Great fun for 4 people.
Just found this thread and enjoyed the read. I owned both of these board games but never thought about combining the two for a grand campaign. Even had the players on hand to accomplish this. What a great idea.
We merged the two games into the grand campaign several times back when I was in the 10-13yo range. Flippin' outstanding, though it took a while to get through. I think there were 2 Red Storm Rising rounds for every 1 HfRO. Unfortunately, I think it would be a hard sell to that same age range today as (imho) the Cold War doesn't generate strong emotions in those who never experienced it to some degree. (and now for the embarrassing bit of realization that I replied to this same thread two years ago!)
Quick comment: when it comes to "counter clutter"...give me more, give me more. Playing solitaire (especially scenarios of one's own devising) always benefits from having more options to select from than less. Players can always cobble together 'off map' displays to reduce mapboard congestion...whenever I play AH's 'Rise and Decline of the Third Reich' I usually utilize two mapboards. One for ground unit movement/combat and a separate one for aero/naval operations. If you lack for room...buy a bigger house. Our hobby demands respect!
Thank you for the review. Always loved the counters and Task Force boards from this game. RIP Tom Clancy.
PS - Was gratified to see in the Comments that other folks were interested in Clancy's follow-up 'Red Storm Rising'. Epic piece of literature (as is 'Hunt for Red October'') which conjures up several intriguing scenarios re WWIII. Cheers!
I had this in 8th grade. I re-bought a copy a couple of years ago (along with TSR's Line in The Sand and Red Storm Rising), and thanks to the airing of the film this afternoon and this video, I'll be pulling it out to see what it's got tonight. Thanks, Gilbert!
Thanks for the great review. I never would have thought this game would even be this detailed and good looking.
Thank you for making this video to demonstrate how this game is played and how the board and pieces look. Thinking about buying it off of eBay as I am a huge fan of the movie.
I wish they had created the game with hidden movement. Even though you can use blank counter to fool your opponent, the effect isn't significant enough to make this game challenging.
i believe the movie came out in 1990 , this was probably based only on the book. and not the movie.
Hi Gilbert. Love your video series. I just got an opened but un-punched copy of TSR's "Red Storm Rising" and a brand new copy of TSR's "Hunt for the Red October". I understand you're in the NCR so if ever you ever want to have a match, let me know!
Cheers,
Eric
I played the Red Storm Rising board game, which is very similar in design. Huge, but remarkably short considering its scope.
Note, this game came out a year before the move and has nothing to do with the movie.
Being a movie buff myself I have both of those movies. "The Bedford Incident" is particularly interesting. I think what turned me off from the game "Red October" was the apparent counter clutter. The Task forces mitigated this to some degree.
IIRC, when tied together as the super-game (Hunt and Red Storm combined), Red Storm played two rounds for every one round of Hunt and aircraft could be used in both (there was a conversion factor - something like two chits in one of the games equaled one chit in the other). Also, convoys across the N Atlantic through Hunt determined NATO reinforcements in Red Storm. Good stuff and super-cool, especially as one of my first wargames outside of Risk when I played it back in the early 90s in that 10-11 age range.
Very nice printed game. I love it..
Yes, the movie was released in 1990.
Hey James. Its very likely I made some mistakes in the Battle procedure, which I'm still not clear on to tell you the truth. The rules are a little vague on this,
Wow that's alot of components
Doesn't seem like the hidden aspect of the game would make much difference.
You are a Civil War enthusiast; how about a review of "Across Five Aprils?" I understand you do not like the chit-pull feature but your opinion would be of interest.
I don't own a copy of "Across Five Aprils" so I can't peruse it. I understand it has pretty good comments about it though.
Thanks for the speedy reply; was just wondering. On to
the the Am. Revolution eh?
Good movie, "The Hunt For Red October". The game is okay, but for me maybe too many counters. I can't help thinking of another movie "The Bedford Incident" (1965) which again is a good movie (a sort of cold war version of Moby Dick). Any game based on that picture would have very few counters.
Ticonderoga class cruiser* no frigate would have nuclear tomahawks lol