The Tide at Sunrise: The Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905

About this board game

The Tide at Sunrise: The Russo-Japanese War, 1904-1905 is a two-player wargame of the Russo-Japanese War, with an approximate play time of 240 minutes. Across 12 turns, each representing one month, players manage land and naval forces in a contest shaped by logistics, terrain, and victory points.

The game uses an abstract logistical system called Transport Points. Japanese points represent the available merchant marine capacity and can be disrupted by Russian naval activity, while Russian points reflect the capacity of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Heavy snow in Siberia can affect Russian transport, and Colonel Akashi’s secret operations may reduce it through sudden strikes and riots in the Russian heartland.

Players must decide how to divide transport capacity between bringing in new forces and replacing battlefield losses. They must also balance two distinct fronts: the struggle for the important port of Port Arthur and the mountain passes of Manchuria, which lead toward the less defensible northern plains and their valuable objectives.

The Japanese player begins each turn with naval operations, including transport allocation, movement, combat, and replacement and recovery. The Russian player then conducts Colonel Akashi’s secret operations before handling transport, movement, combat, and supply and recovery. After both player turns, victory points are determined; the Japanese can also achieve a sudden-death victory.

• One full-color 22" by 39" map
• 140 land formation counters and 44 ship counters
• Divisions and brigades for land units, with capital ships representing naval units
• 10-kilometer hexes and a 16-page full-color rulebook

Victory is determined by naval success, control of key terrain objectives, and enemy losses. With simple complexity and an excellent solitaire rating, The Tide at Sunrise offers a focused operational contest for two players.