Red Notice: A Million or Prison
One player secretly moves a counterfeiter around the world to cash forged checks; the other uses FBI surveillance, deduction and action timing to find and stop her.
Red Notice: A Million or Prison is a two-player asymmetric pursuit game from Catch Up Games, designed by Gautier de Cottreau and Baptiste Laurent. Angela Farbank is a counterfeiter trying to cash forged checks around the world; Jessah Hope is the FBI agent trying to identify and capture her.
The game combines hidden movement with a shared action-programming system. Each round presents four Action cards that both players compete to use, so deduction is not only about where Angela may be—it is also about what she is likely to do next.
Why it stands out
Most hidden-movement games separate the fugitive’s movement from the pursuer’s actions. Red Notice adds a second contest: both players are looking at the same four Action cards and secretly committing to when they want to use them. That means every action choice can reveal intent, deny tempo or become part of the bluff.
What the asymmetric roles change
Angela and Jessah are not trying to score the same thing more efficiently. Their objectives, information and tools are different. Angela wants to stay unpredictable long enough to cash forged checks; Jessah wants to turn partial information into a narrowing search.
That asymmetry makes repeat plays naturally role-dependent. Learning the FBI side does not mean you have solved the counterfeiter side, because the decisions and pressures are different.
Game at a Glance
Move in Secret
Angela records her route privately while trying to stay ahead of the FBI search.
Program Actions
Four Action cards define each round, and both players commit tokens to use them.
Narrow the Search
Jessah uses surveillance tools and revealed information to reduce Angela’s safe routes.
Race to the Win
Angela wants to cash $1,000,000 before the FBI can stop her plan.
How Red Notice works
Red Notice is built around an international chase. Angela tracks her movement on a private map while Jessah watches the public board and tries to infer where the counterfeiter has gone.
Angela’s objective is to cash forged checks worth a total of $1,000,000. Jessah’s objective is to locate and arrest her before that happens.
Unlike a pure hidden-movement game, each round also draws four Action cards. These cards define the choices available to both players for that round.
The action-programming puzzle
Players take turns placing action tokens face down to plan when and how they will act. The available actions can include moving between cities, cashing or drawing checks, and manipulating surveillance tools such as radars and roadblocks.
This creates two linked questions every round: which action do I need? and which action does my opponent think I need?
A predictable choice can be punished even when it is individually efficient. If Angela obviously needs to cash a check, Jessah can focus on actions that exploit that expectation. If Jessah concentrates too heavily on one continent, Angela may spend the round improving position elsewhere.
Angela Farbank vs Jessah Hope
Playing Angela: the counterfeiter
Angela travels secretly and tries to reach the right parts of the world to cash checks. Her private map lets her track a route that Jessah cannot directly see.
Fake identities provide additional escape tools when the FBI closes in. That makes Angela’s challenge more than simply avoiding contact: she has to judge when an identity or route is worth spending to preserve the larger plan.
Playing Jessah: the FBI agent
Jessah begins with less information but stronger surveillance potential. As the pursuit develops, the FBI can use radars and roadblocks to restrict movement and generate useful clues.
The agent’s strongest turns are usually not the ones that cover the most map. They are the ones that eliminate the most plausible routes.
Radars and roadblocks
The FBI can deploy surveillance to make the world map less open. Radars help test whether Angela has entered watched areas, while roadblocks constrain movement routes.
These tools are strongest when they work together. A roadblock that merely closes an irrelevant connection has low value; a roadblock that forces Angela toward a monitored area can turn movement control into information.
Fake identities change the capture race
Angela has access to false identities that can help her escape when the FBI manages to catch her. This gives the pursuit a staged feel: finding Angela is important, but it does not necessarily end the game immediately.
For Jessah, that means early successful captures still matter because they reduce Angela’s future safety. For Angela, an identity is effectively a limited defensive resource and should not be treated as free insurance.
A useful strategic question
Illustrative analysis: if Angela has two plausible routes to a continent where she can profit, the shorter route is not automatically better. A slightly longer route can be stronger if it makes Jessah spend surveillance resources covering the wrong area.
Similarly, Jessah should evaluate a radar or roadblock by how much uncertainty it removes, not just how close it is to the last known position.
These are editorial deductions from the published systems, not claims of solved strategy or firsthand competitive testing.
Which role should a new player take?
Angela has the information advantage because she knows her real position, but she must constantly protect that secret while still making progress toward the million-dollar goal.
Jessah has the more explicit deduction puzzle: build a model of Angela’s likely route, then use surveillance and action timing to test it.
If one player enjoys bluffing and hidden information, Angela is the natural first choice. If one player prefers deduction and narrowing possibilities, Jessah is the clearer fit.
Is Red Notice only for two players?
Yes. Catch Up Games lists Red Notice as a two-player-only game. The roles depend on one counterfeiter and one FBI agent, so there is no official 3- or 4-player mode.
The publisher lists about 30 minutes, while BoardGameGeek gives a broader 20–40 minute range.
2026 release and English edition
Red Notice released in French in 2026, with French retail sources dating the launch to March.
BoardGameGeek currently lists the Catch Up Games English edition for October 22, 2026. That means English-language availability may still be preorder-based in some markets even though the underlying game is already released.
Regional editions should therefore be treated separately rather than using one worldwide release date.
Can you play Red Notice online?
BoardGameGeek lists an official/digital implementation on Board Game Arena. That gives prospective buyers a useful way to learn the asymmetric roles and action-programming rhythm before deciding whether the physical two-player game suits them.
What’s in the box?
Published component lists include a world map board, Action board, 12 Action cards, 18 Check cards, 18 Action tokens, two character pawns, six Radar tokens, four Roadblocks, ten Upgrade cards, a Security pawn and six Identity tiles.
The component mix reflects the game’s structure: most pieces either control information, shape movement or determine action timing rather than building a large personal engine.
How Red Notice compares with other two-player games
| Game | Shared idea | Main difference |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Wonders Duel | Dedicated two-player confrontation | 7 Wonders Duel is open-information civilization drafting rather than hidden movement. |
| Jaipur | Fast two-player tactical decisions | Jaipur is a market-timing card game without asymmetric roles. |
| Patchwork | Two-player tempo management | Patchwork is a spatial economic puzzle rather than deduction and bluffing. |
| Codenames | Reading another person’s thinking | Codenames uses word association and teams; Red Notice uses movement, programming and asymmetric information. |
Who it may suit
Red Notice may suit couples or regular two-player groups that want more direct psychological interaction than a quiet efficiency puzzle.
It is particularly attractive if you enjoy bluffing, deduction and trying to predict what another person will do rather than optimizing a personal tableau.
It may be less suitable if you dislike hidden information, strongly asymmetric roles or games where one player’s mistakes can quickly give the other useful information.
Where this game fits in our recommendations
- Board games for two players — compare dedicated head-to-head games.
- Two-player strategy board games — compare direct tactical interaction.
- Short strategy board games — compare decision density in under an hour.
Red Notice: A Million or Prison FAQ
How many players?
Exactly two.
Who designed Red Notice?
Gautier de Cottreau and Baptiste Laurent.
How long does it take?
Catch Up Games lists about 30 minutes; BGG currently gives a 20–40 minute range.
What does Angela need to do?
Travel secretly and cash forged checks totaling $1,000,000 before the FBI stops her.
What does Jessah need to do?
Use deduction and FBI tools to locate and arrest Angela before the counterfeiter completes the plan.
Is movement hidden?
Angela’s route is tracked privately, while Jessah works from partial public information and surveillance.
Are official English rules available?
Yes. Catch Up Games’ official English translation was uploaded to BGG in March 2026.
Is Red Notice on Board Game Arena?
Yes. BGG lists a Board Game Arena digital implementation.
Sources and scope
- Catch Up Games: Red Notice official product page
- BoardGameGeek: Red Notice and publisher description
- Catch Up Games official English rulebook listing
- BGG: Catch Up Games English edition
Checked October 7, 2026. Gameplay is summarized from Catch Up Games’ public description and edition information rather than reproducing the rulebook. Exact edge-case procedures remain with the official rules. Strategy and role-suitability comments are original editorial analysis; no firsthand review or playtest is claimed. Editorial policy and corrections.