Code Red! Warfare in the 21st Century

CODE RED! is a card game that pits players in a grand contest of global competition and conflict. With the boxed set of Code RED! players assume the mantle of the United States or the People's Republic of China. Where conflict erupts is determined by which Theatres a player puts into play during their turn, from Washington to Beijing and everything in between.

Players initially construct their deck. Paying attention to how many Theatre cards they include, tempering this against the number units and force multipliers they need in order to get the job done. If your deck is too small you can't effectively carry out your plans or respond to threats. Too big and you find that F-22 Raptor or Nimitz Carrier just never seems to be drawn.

Make sure your force mix can operate effectively within the Theatre you want to dominate. Be wary, include forces that can defend your home territories too.

Aside from decks, players begin the game with an allocation of Command and Control tokens. Command tokens let you do things in game, from drawing additional cards, withdrawing revealed units to activating force multipliers. Running out of Command tokens can see your grand strategy grind to a halt or your ability to counter your opponents actions (like being able to intercept that ICBM!).

Control tokens are your life blood, the ability to gain Control tokens at the expense of your opponent is crucial to winning Code Red! Run out of Control tokens at the end of your turn you lose the game.

Gameplay is handled with a three step turn sequence which alternates between players.

Resupply - Draw cards and possibly Command tokens if you're contesting Theatres.

Reorganistation - Deploy Theatres, deploy and reorganise your units and force multipliers within Theatres. Pay attention when assigning forces to Theatres you wish to defend as well as those you wish to attack.

Operations - The business end of the turn, players activate units and force multipliers in a Theatre by declaring a Code Alert for each Theatre they contest.

Code Blue - do nothing Code Green - Use your units to detect the enemies hidden forces Code Yellow - Through a show of military power, force the enemy to withdraw from a Theatre, ceding control to you. Code Red - War becomes hot! Attack and destroy all enemy units within a Theatre, obliterate them to win control.

Remember, if you are reduced to zero Control tokens at the end of your turn you lose the game.

The game is expandable, we've just added 54 card expansions for both China and the United States. With plans to include decks representing Russia, Iran, Syria, North Korea and Israel in the future.

—description from the publisher