Kontact Now: Red Eclipse

Kontact Now: Red Eclipse is the first game in a new tactical system. Kontact Now: Red Eclipse (KNRE) covers the Cold War Gone HOT in West Germany in 1989. KNRE is designed and developed by Steve Overton with Jon Southard, designer of the original Fire Team game consulting and graphic design by Shayne Logan.

KNRE covers the US and Soviet forces fight on geomorphic maps that are represented at 50-meter hexes and 2 - 5-minute turns.

KNRE brings together mechanics to represent the OODA Loop, training and experience of military organizations, Command and Control of tactical combat units, random impulses based on the capabilities of your leaders on the map, intuitive game play based on the units responding to game play as soldiers do in actual situations, and the ability to create random events such as happen in small unit actions.

Couple the OODA Loop with the training and experience of each nations organizations in the series to create a unique blend of Command and Control with organizational traits. Tactical Event Cards add additional options for play, Command Points give you a varying number of orders per impulse - determined by the quality and condition of the leaders you currently have in play on the map. As the overall leader in the game, you can do whatever you want. You just won't be able to do it all at the same time. If one of your Command Point chits is drawn, you will have between 1 and three orders to issue. Those orders range from firing at the enemy to repairing support weapons and everything in between. That's all great but which orders do you give 'RIGHT NOW'? Each of us has a different idea about what's the most important thing to do at any given moment.

Leaders play the pivotal role in the game by creating orders, directing fire, providing a movement bonus, and assisting in rallying of broken/disrupted units. The state of your leaders on the map determines how many orders they can give each impulse during the turn. The organization of the nationality you have determines the number of orders you may get in an impulse. The player who can utilize his leaders to the greatest effect will usually be the winner. Usually, because nothing is ever 100% certain in the KN game series.

Weaponry has not been left out of the game. All weapons of the era are in the game. All weapons systems in the series have been created using the same formulas. This allows each unit - weapons system - to be created with it's own unique values in relation to the other weapons of that same weapons class over the past 70+ years and into the future. Armor penetration values are constant throughout the series as are armor defensive values; for all vehicles and helicopters. Each weapons class has been exhaustively researched to give you the best unit values to work with. You don't have to worry about the weapons and the systems. All you have to worry about is using them in a winning combination.

KNRE will include Off-Map Artillery, night rules, multi-level buildings, rubble, fires, roadblocks, helicopter, Close Air Support (CAS), Antitank Guided Missiles, Surface to Air Missiles, Man Portable Air Defense systems.

KNRE will include both high and low counter density scenarios; with a variety of complexity. From basic infantry only all the way to helicopter supported combined arms battles.

Asymmetrical Victory Conditions combined with the Tactical Event Cards and concealment counters, random CAS attack packages, random size artillery missions, and Opportunity Fire adds a heavy layer of Fog of War to the system.

Because of the random chit draw for each impulse during a turn, the series is extremely solitaire friendly.

KN very much adheres to the chaos gaming method. This is not an "I take a turn/ You take a turn" game. This is random events, varying length impulses per turn, surprises at every moment kind of a game with an intuitive set of rules. It is not so random that you have nothing to do but sit back and let the game play itself. The choices are there every impulse for the gamer to impact game play. Tactical Event Cards can be played at any time, no matter whose impulse it is. Game play gets so intense that the gaming table may crack!!

Good Hunting.