Red November

Overview

Red November is a cooperative survival game for 3-8 players, published by Fantasy Flight Games. Players are desperate gnomish sailors aboard a doomed submarine called the Red November. The submarine is beset by fires, floods, equipment failures, and other disasters. Working together, the gnomes must fix malfunctions, extinguish fires, and solve deadly problems to survive until rescue arrives. The game uses a unique time-based action system where each action costs time, and players must balance urgency with efficiency as disaster strikes.

Components

• 1 Submarine board (divided into 10 rooms)
• 8 Gnome figures with time markers
• Event card deck
• Item card deck (including Grog cards)
• Disaster track markers (Asphyxiation, Heat, Pressure)
• Flood tokens
• Fire tokens
• Blocked hatch tokens
• Destruction tokens
• 1 Ten-sided die (d10)
• Time track

Setup

1. Place the submarine board in the center of the table.
2. Each player selects a gnome color and places their figure in a random room.
3. Stack time markers near the starting position based on player count (60-minute mark).
4. Place 6 Grog cards near the Captain’s Cabin.
5. Shuffle remaining item cards into a draw deck.
6. Prepare the event deck (remove the Kraken card initially).
7. Set all disaster track markers to their starting positions.
8. Place the gnome time markers on the time track at the start.

Turn Structure

A player’s turn consists of four sequential phases:

1. Movement Phase: Move your gnome through hatches between rooms. Each room moved costs 1 minute on the time track. Water flows freely between connected rooms at no cost.
2. Action Phase: Perform one action (fix equipment, use items, or take special actions). Each action costs a specified amount of time.
3. Faint Check: If you used any Grog cards this turn, make a Faint Check by drawing an event card and comparing its number to your intoxication level.
4. Updates Phase: Check gnome survival, advance your time marker by the total time spent, and resolve any event/item draws triggered by spaces passed on the time track.

Actions

Action	Time Cost	Effect
Fix equipment	Variable	Roll d10 to attempt repair; time spent increases success chance
Extinguish fire	Variable	Attempt to put out fire in current room
Pump water	Variable	Remove flood tokens from current room
Open blocked hatch	Variable	Clear a blocked hatch to restore movement
Use item card	Varies	Apply item effect (tools, aqualung, etc.)
Drink Grog	0	Increase intoxication; may help or hinder
No Action	0	Forced if in a flooded or burning room (with restrictions)

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• Win: All surviving gnomes reach the “Rescued!” space on the time track with all active disasters resolved. Rescue arrives at the 60-minute mark.
• Lose: Any of the following:
  • A disaster track marker (Asphyxiation, Heat, or Pressure) reaches its maximum.
  • A timed destruction event is not resolved in time.
  • All gnomes die.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Flooded Rooms: Gnomes in high-water rooms can only take “No Action” and must escape.
• Fire Rooms: While in a fire room, the only available action is “Extinguish Fire.”
• Grog and Intoxication: Drinking Grog increases your intoxication level. Higher intoxication means higher chance of fainting during the Faint Check. A fainted gnome loses their remaining actions.
• Time as Currency: Every action costs time. Spending more time on a repair increases the chance of success but brings the gnome closer to the end of the game.
• Kraken: The Kraken card is added to the event deck partway through the game, representing a catastrophic threat.
• Gnome Death: If a gnome dies, the game continues with remaining gnomes. If all gnomes die, everyone loses.
• Lucky Charm: Lets a gnome ignore the first three event draws (item card ability).

Player Reference

Turn: Move (1 min/room) -> Action (variable time) -> Faint Check (if Grog used) -> Updates (advance time, resolve events)

Disaster Tracks: Asphyxiation, Heat, Pressure – any reaching max = game over

Win: Survive to minute 60 with no active disasters

Repairs: Roll d10; succeed if roll <= time spent on action + item bonuses