Introduction

Rockets Red Glare is a two player game type simulation of the War Of 1812 in North America on the strategic and operational levels.

Players 2
Period War of 1812 (1812-1815)
Scale Strategic and Operational Turn Quarterly / seasonal
Map 85 miles per hex (strategic) 13 miles per hex (operational)
Unit mostly regimental, individual ships or flotillas, and leaders

Components

Box ziploc
Map 22"x28" unmounted map on thick paper
Rules 12 page digest sized
Counters 255 die-cut and backprinted

Counter Manifest

78 English & Canadian red Land (including Indians)
22 English tan Lake Naval
28 English pink Ocean Naval
75 United States dark green Land
23 United States light green Lake Naval
21 United States golden brown Ocean Naval
8 white, including six randomizers, turn marker, and the Barataria unit

SimCan says:

“Rockets Red Glare recreates the blunders, surprises, startling defeats, and bittersweet victories of this war in a game of high complexity … land and naval engagements take place on two map sections, one of the Great Lakes border area and the other covering the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In Rockets Red Glare we have tried to show the military and logistical reasons for the poor showing on the field by all participants that led to a military status quo and the eventual political results. To do this, we have put together a very strategically oriented game, even though one map is operationally scaled.”

The Reviewers say:

“The game covers the entire period of the war…you are locked into some historical decisions and allowed to make others. Rockets Red Glare demands a lot from its rule book …Unfortunately, their brevity has left some areas so vague that without errata there is a good chance for misinterpretation. Rockets Red Glare is a very successful game in that it fulfills all of the designer’s objectives. It combines a nice blend of historical constraints and strategic choices. It portrays the relationship between sea power (and lake power) and land power extremely well. There is no sudden death…only the accumulation of victory points in numerous small operations. Most games will be very close…Stephen Newberg has done an excellent job…It is an innovative treatment playable in six to eight hours.” --Bob Proctor in F&M 34.

“The design is original in many places and conveys a sense of one of the more senseless wars in history. The Americans begin by harassing the greatly superior British naval forces, and then wath the American heartland get stomped by powerful British stacks. ... A very involved Victory Point count detracts from an otherwise likable -- if eccentric -- game. ... [I]f you are vaguely interested in the situation, the text is worth wading through.” --Eric Goldberg in S&T 91.

Comments

RRG is one of SimCan’s icon games, an ambitious design on an unheralded topic. Newberg stated that he really enjoyed working on the project, and it shows. The interweaving of the various scales and units, both land and naval, provides for a different gaming experience. Luckythat his preferred title for the game, Entre Amis, was not chosen! Check Web Grognards on-line for some interesting variants and fixes.

Collectors Notes

Eagerly sought after, the recent horde discovered at Clash of Arms has lowered RRG’s value somewhat. Boone quotes low, high and average prices of 3/6/4.50 at auction and 8/20/ 14.25 for sale.

Errata & Clarifications

The U.S. 15th counter should have an infantry symbol and the U.S. New Orl counter should be a 120C on the front of the counter as well as on the back.

C.535 should indicate that Techumsa, though subject to the restrictions imposed by rule C.533, is not counted when applying those restrictions to brock and Prevost since Techumsa is only a leader for Indian units.

Stephen Newberg says:

This game is one of my favourites of my own design. The complexity is only moderate, but the game manages to include both a strategic game covering the U.S. from New England to Louisiana, and a breakdown operational game dealing in detail with the critical Great Lakes region confrontation zone. We have land and sea combat systems, and their integration. And it actually produces good history in a tense game. As I said, one of my favourites.