TL;DR: Red Rising: The Board Game is a hand-management strategy game based on Pierce Brown's dystopian sci-fi series. It's genuinely good — elegant mechanics, real strategic depth, zero digital addiction loops. But the source material is dark, and the game itself rewards cutthroat play. Best for ages 14+ and families who already love games like Dominion or Scythe.
Red Rising is a hand-management card game for 2-6 players, designed by Jamey Stegmaier and Alexander Schmidt and published by Stonemaier Games in 2021. It's based on Pierce Brown's Red Rising book series — a dystopian saga set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system and society is rigidly divided into a color-based caste system. Think The Hunger Games meets Game of Thrones, but in space, and with more political scheming.
The game itself is relatively compact — a single box, cards, tokens, a board representing the planet Mars divided into different locations. Each round, players are drafting cards (characters from the books) by sending them to locations, collecting resources, and trying to score the most points across multiple categories. That multi-track scoring is what the hobby calls "point salad" — and we'll get into whether that's a feature or a bug in a second.
About 55% of families in the Screenwise community have at least one active gamer in the house, which means there's a solid chance someone at your table has already heard of Stonemaier Games — they also make the wildly popular Wingspan. Red Rising is a very different vibe from Wingspan, though. Less "cozy bird sanctuary," more "I will absolutely betray you for a Fleet card."
Let's be real about the mechanics for a second, because this matters if you're buying this for a kid or a family game night.
Red Rising uses what's called a point salad scoring system — meaning you're accumulating points from many different sources simultaneously: card powers, location bonuses, resource sets, character synergies, end-game objectives. There's no single obvious path to winning, which is either deeply satisfying or completely overwhelming depending on who's sitting across from you.
For experienced gamers, this is a feature. The replayability is high because different card combinations create wildly different strategies each game. For newer players or younger kids, it can feel like you played for an hour and have no idea why you lost. That's a real frustration point.
A typical game runs 60-120 minutes, which is on the longer side for family game night. If your family's sweet spot is Ticket to Ride or Sushi Go, this might be a step up in complexity that requires some patience to get through.
That said — the learning curve flattens quickly. Most families report that game two is dramatically smoother than game one.
This is the real conversation, so let's have it directly.
The Red Rising book series is not a kids' series. It features slavery, class oppression, graphic violence, political manipulation, sexual content, and some genuinely brutal character deaths. The first book alone has scenes that would make most parents of middle schoolers pause. Common Sense Media rates the books for ages 14+, and honestly that's probably right.
The board game is considerably tamer than the books. There's no explicit content in the game itself — it's cards and tokens and a scoring track. But the characters, factions, and flavor text all pull directly from the source material. If your kid plays this game and gets hooked, they will almost certainly want to read the books. That's worth knowing going in.
The gameplay itself also has a deliberately cutthroat social dynamic — you're stealing cards from other players, blocking locations, and generally making life difficult for everyone at the table. Some families love this. Some families have discovered that their 10-year-old does not handle getting their best card stolen with grace. Know your audience.
Ask our chatbot whether the Red Rising books are right for your kid's age
Under 10: Skip it. The complexity and the competitive dynamics will likely create more frustration than fun. Try Kingdomino or Forbidden Island if you want strategic play at this age.
Ages 10-13: Mechanically possible, especially for kids who already play strategy games. But be prepared to explain the dystopian caste system backstory, and know that the competitive card-stealing can get heated. Worth a try if your kid is a board game enthusiast — just maybe preview it yourself first.
Ages 14+: This is the sweet spot. Teens who are into strategy games, fantasy/sci-fi worldbuilding, or the book series will find a lot to love here. The complexity feels rewarding rather than punishing at this age, and the social deduction elements land better with players who can handle the psychological game.
Adults playing without kids: Genuinely excellent. One of Stonemaier's tighter designs. If you have a game group that enjoys Wingspan, Viticulture, or Terraforming Mars, Red Rising belongs in the rotation.
Here's the thing about a game like Red Rising: it asks players to read cards, track multiple variables, make strategic decisions under uncertainty, and manage social dynamics — all at the same time. That's a genuinely rich cognitive workout, and it's happening face-to-face, not through a screen.
With 55% of Screenwise community families reporting active gaming in their household, the question a lot of parents are wrestling with isn't "should my kid play games?" — it's "which games are worth their time?" A 90-minute session of Red Rising is a very different experience than 90 minutes of mobile gaming with push notifications and monetization loops. Both are "games." They are not the same thing.
If your family is looking to build a better board game library or find games that bridge the gap between kids and adults, Red Rising is a legitimate option for the right age range.
- No in-app purchases. No screens. No stranger danger. It's a box of cards. This is genuinely refreshing.
- The books are darker than the game — but the game will likely make your teen want to read the books. Have a conversation about that before it happens.
- Competitive, not cooperative — if your family does better with everyone-vs-the-game dynamics, look at Pandemic or Spirit Island instead.
- Rulebook is solid — Stonemaier is known for good production quality and clear rules. First game setup is manageable.
- Retail price is typically $40-55 — reasonable for a game with this much replayability.
Find more strategy games appropriate for teens
Red Rising: The Board Game is a well-designed, strategically satisfying game that earns its place on the shelf — for the right family. The mechanics are tight, the replayability is high, and it creates exactly the kind of engaged, face-to-face interaction that makes tabletop gaming worth prioritizing.
But it's not for young kids, it's not for families who prefer cooperative play, and it will almost certainly open a door to a book series that has some genuinely mature content. None of that is disqualifying — it just means going in with eyes open.
If your household has a teenager who loves strategy games, or you're looking for something that'll hold up at adult game night, this one's worth it. If you're hoping for a game the whole family from age 7 to 70 can play on Thanksgiving — maybe start with Codenames and revisit this one in a few years.
Ask our chatbot for board game recommendations based on your family's age range