Harpoon (Third Edition)

About this board game

Harpoon (Third Edition) is a two-player simulation of modern naval warfare with an approximate playing time of 180 minutes. Its rules cover how ships and aircraft move, detect enemy contacts, and attack them in a detailed representation of naval combat.

The game focuses on the interaction between movement, detection, weapons, and tactics. Weapons inflict realistic effects, while proper naval tactics are intended to produce accurate and believable results. Players use the rules to manage the challenges of finding and engaging enemy forces.

• Movement for ships and aircraft
• Detection of enemy contacts
• Attacks using naval weapons
• Realistic weapon effects and believable combat results
• Die-cut counters included for play at home

The included die-cut counters make it possible to take the game home and begin playing. Released in 1987, Harpoon (Third Edition) offers a substantial naval warfare experience built around its rules system and physical counters.

Harpoon also has a notable connection to Tom Clancy’s novels The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising. The game was not based on those books; instead, it served as a source for them. In the author’s note to Red Storm Rising, Harpoon is described as a primary source for The Hunt for Red October and as the basis for the idea of a macro-wargame or campaign game depicting a new Battle of the North Atlantic. Larry Bond is given co-copyright to Red Storm Rising.