REDLINE: Tactical Card Combat is an expandable card game designed and developed by Saving Throw Studios. A card game built around simultaneous combat, REDLINE was created to merge the gameplay of tabletop wargaming with card game mechanics.

Players build and deploy their forces of war machines called efreets to the battlefield similar to most card games (dropping resources, playing units, upgrading them with buffs). However combat is fought over an ever-changing map of mission cards that creates the terrain to fight over each game. Using hidden dials, players plan their attacks then carry them out in hopes of capturing missions to expand their control of the battlefield.

Successfully Kickstarted in 2020, REDLINE now supports two additional expansions, REDLINE: Siege and REDLINE: Battle of Neom.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

REDLINE: Payday is the third expansion to REDLINE: Tactical Card Combat.

Our new expansions adds 2 new factions to the game for a total of 4. Fight alongside cunning mercenaries who collect on bounties for additional bonuses and rewards or greedy Industrial Corporations who fight to exploit natural resources.

We’re excited for the opportunity to open the game up with our new factions. A lot of mechanical design space in our previous expansions has been reserved for our coming Merc and Industrial factions. Now with their addition, players will be able to approach how they play REDLINE in fun new ways.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

No question BattleTech was a huge influence on REDLINE. Many members of the design team grew up playing and loving the game and our head efreet designer has worked previously for Catalyst Game Labs and Iron Wind Metals so the aesthetic is there.

And while the old BattleTech CCG is beloved by many, it is also over 20 years old. REDLINE was designed to be a spiritual successor to the old card game in many ways while also innovating on the gameplay with modern gaming ideas and concepts such as hidden dials, emergent gameplay and MTG Commanderesque deck construction rules.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

The cards will be STANDARD playing card sized and work with any 2.5 x 3.5 sleeve.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

I mean, you COULD use them during play and simply place their cards off to the side for stat tracking purposes. ;)

We are lucky in that our efreet designer is a skilled 3d artist who has previously worked on mech designs and minis for Iron Wind Metals and Catalyst Games Labs. Every efreet for the game is first created as a 3d model for use on the cards and for artist reference. Because of that, it only takes a little extra effort to take them one step further and make them 1:128th scale models. We know a large part of our player base loves miniatures and so the REDLINE minis are a fun addition they can add to their collection. Many players like to use them we’ve heard as pirate or mercenary forces in their tabletop games.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

Yes!

Over the years, BattleTech miniatures have hit the gym and gotten a bit beefier than they used to be, but our minis will fight right in with them all. They are all 1:128th scale.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

Yes.

The REDLINE Core Set comes with everything two players need to begin playing such as the mission deck, critical hit deck, movement dials, dice, and tokens. All needed to play a game.

However, the Core Set comes with everything needed for two players to begin playing, so only 1 is required to start battling between players.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

No.

We designed REDLINE to maximize the player v player experience. Unfortunately, the game’s foundational game mechanics such as the simultaneous combat system and hidden maneuver dials do not translate well into solo play.

We have had a lot of players ask about a solo play option and understand that solo play is desirable. But to do it justice, it would likely require a large alteration of the basic rules. This is not impossible to do, however, our focus has been spent on expanding the core game experience in other ways. In addition, reworking REDLINE into a solo player game would likely require a radical alteration of the base game into something it was never designed to be, which wouldn’t be a quality gaming experience,

Multiplayer however….

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

Yes!

Earlier this year we introduced a new way to play REDLINE with additional friends called REDLINE Scramble!

Scramble is designed for 3 players, though technically could be played with 4 and even 2. Scramble plays exactly the same as regular REDLINE except instead of capturing to control missions after combat, players instead roll to own them and remove them to add to their baseline as a permanent addition to their board. Once a mission is removed from the redline a new one is added to play from the mission deck to keep options fluctuating! Instead of aiming to control all 5 missions in the redline at once, players now fight to amass missions and gain a total of 20 mission capture points to win.

Playing Scramble is a blast as its a free for all race between players to capture the best missions for themselves before your opponents do!

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

This is a new format we introduced with our last expansion, REDLINE: Battle of Neom.

In Scenario Play, players battle over a set and predetermined selection of mission cards instead of randomly dealt as normal.

Our goal with Scenario Play is to give REDLINE players the ability to recreate and replay important battles in REDLINE history, and present set challenges to plan for when deck building. Knowing what the missions are beforehand will allow players to fine tune decks to best compete for them. For example, the super city of Neom is a dense urban area featuring missions with high capture costs that favors heavier efreets and can lead to more intense rounds of combat. A deck built around lighter efreets may get chewed up in the urban combat found in Neom. Build accordingly!

All 5 of the new Payday mission cards can be played together to recreate the conflict between the Shamrock Mercancy Group and Drihl Co that takes center stage in our REDLINE: Payday expansion. Or play the Payday campaign using other factions such as the UNE or CPM to see how they would fair in the fight! Or create your own scenarios with your friends!

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

Items like the REDLINE Core Set, Siege and Battle of Neom expansion decks and miniatures are currently available on our main website at REDLINEgame.com.

However, all items ordered through the current Kickstarter campaign will be shipped in one delivery when REDLINE: Payday is ready to be fulfilled. Our estimated delivery is in about 6-8 months. This is to save on shipping for backers while also giving new players the ability to order past items if they wanted without waiting.

If you would like to start playing REDLINE right away and don’t want to wait, then you can order available products through our website. Those orders will be sent out immediately.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

No.

We do not have an online version of REDLINE nor a Tabletop Simulator currently available.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

It is insane how fast technology moves. Only a year ago when developing our last expansion, the idea of usable AI art seemed years away, at least to us.

Now the genie is out of the bottle and AI art seems to be everywhere.

The use and adoption of AI art has numerous advantages and disadvantages. No doubt as the technology matures it will become more widely accepted and it is our hopes it is seen and used as a powerful new tool that empowers artists to be more creative than ever.

However, Saving Throw Studios and REDLINE for the foreseeable future will not be building our game around AI art. We take a lot of pride in working with numerous artists all around the world to craft the illustrations used to create our game And we believe REDLINE is a better game as a result of their individual contributions and that their unique styles all help to make our universe feel richer and fuller as a result.

In addition, recent legal rulings have stated AI art is not copyright protected and as such, we have no inclination to expose ourselves to that risk.

Last updated: October 19, 2023 16:58

We have answers.

Peeling back the curtain, as a game manufacturer, we have two main costs in regards to shipping. 1. The cost of shipping product from our overseas manufacturer to our network of distributors around the globe. Either by sea, (slow and costly) or by air, (fast and costlier). 2. Once product has arrived, there is the shipping costs we normally think of when receiving packages in the mail which incurs an additional cost.

Add them together and you can see why shipping is such a headache and pain.

In addition, distributors often charge fees for receiving product, for packing orders, and for storing unsold product which ends up becoming a third cost we must factor in. Having multiple distributors multiplies these charges.

To make your head hurt even more, we have no idea how many final orders we will have ship due to the nature of crowdfunding as costs of scale are hard to determine before launch. And we are shipping to 40 or so different countries with different shipping rates and rules for each and it’ll make you cry.

If we were to pass on the true costs of shipping to our backers, the costs would be much higher than we listed. However, we realize we need to stay as competitive as possible and understand high shipping is a huge turnoff, and rightfully so! So we, like many other businesses, eat some of the shipping costs with our profits in order to keep things as affordable as possible for our players.

Last updated: March 30, 2024 20:37