I have to say a recently updated solitaire wargame from Battlespace Games has certainly caught my eye. Red Menace places the player in command of the combined arsenals of the U.S., U.K., and Canada during the late 1950s as the Cold War with the Soviet Union turns blazing hot. The game mainly focuses on the air as the player leads the combined strategic bomber forces of the allies. The second edition of Red Menace is for one player, aged 12+, plays in around 60-90 minutes, and carries an MSRP of $49.99.
From Battlespace:
Red Menace is a solitaire wargame pitting the strategic nuclear and defensive forces of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom against those of the Soviet Union and its client state, Cuba, in 1959.
The game focuses primarily on the role of strategic bombers, but other types of supporting aircraft such as Interceptors, Airborne Early Warning, and Aerial Refueling Tankers are also represented. The player takes control of the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Decisions for the Soviet units are made by the game system using random events and dice.
The term “Red Menace” was used during the Cold War by the U.S. because it was believed that thousands of Soviet bombers could be unleashed at a moment’s notice. This turned out not to be true (the Soviets had several hundred bombers at best, and many had significant range limitations).
The game is not meant to be an accurate simulation of the actual capabilities of the strategic forces involved, but rather reflects what the governments and citizens of the U.S., Canada and the U.K. believed could happen.
Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...
