twilight struggle

a game (for 2 players) covering the political and military struggle of the fourty year period of cold war. each player represents a superpower and tries to increase its influence (from presence to domination to control) in the different countries and regions of the world. as the gameplay is card-driven each turn the players have to use their action cards either for certain operations like placing influence or attempting coups in one or more countries or they can play their cards as (historical appopriate) events, then the respective action described takes place. at the same time you also have to take care of your position in "space race" and of course you must not to trigger nuclear war which would mean to immediately loose the game.

in the ten turns of gameplay and more than three hours of real time you need a lot of planning and strategic thinking, but also some luck with the cards (hand management can be really tough at times) and the dice (when attempting a coup for example) to win the game, nevertheless it's often up to you if you take the chances (and risks) of rolling the dice. basicallly the game is very well balanced, the board is great (arranged very clearly) and also the other gaming material is of pretty good quality.

you'll experience hours of great entertainment and excitement. a masterpiece.

"Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are – but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle." – John F. Kennedy

In 1945, unlikely allies toppled Hitler's war machine, while humanity's most devastating weapons forced the Japanese Empire to its knees in a storm of fire. Where once there stood many great powers, there now stood only two – the United States and the Soviet Union. The world had scant months to collectively sigh in relief before a new conflict threatened. Unlike the titanic struggles of the preceding decades, this conflict would be waged not primarily by soldiers and tanks, but by spies and politicians, scientists and intellectuals, artists and traitors. Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the 45 year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the USSR and the USA. The entire world is the stage on which these two titans fight. The game begins amidst the ruins of Europe as the two new superpowers scramble over the wreckage of WWII and ends in 1989, when only the United States remained standing.

Twilight Struggle inherits its fundamental systems from the card-driven classics We the People and Hannibal. It is a quick-playing, low-complexity game in that same tradition. The game map is a world map of the period, whereon players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower.

Twilight Struggle's Event cards add detail and flavor to the game. They cover a vast array of historical happenings: the Arab-Israeli conflicts, Vietnam, the peace movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and other such incidents that brought the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation. Subsystems capture the prestige-laden Space Race as well as nuclear tensions, with the possibility of game-ending nuclear war. Can you, as the U.S. President or Soviet Premier, lead your nation to victory? Play Twilight Struggle and find out.

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2 players, 180 min
author: ananda gupta, jason matthews
publisher: gmt games
category: card-driven, political wargame

download the rules here

buy the game online @ cosimshop.de or coolstuffinc.com

twilight struggle @ boardgamegeek.com
twilight struggle @ luding.org

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