O'Hara, Walt (December 2006). McCallion, John J. (ed.). "2007 Buyer's Guide to Games – The Traditional Games 100: Historical Simulation – Twilight Struggle". Games Magazine. p.48.

According to its designers, " Twilight Struggle basically accepts all of the internal logic of the Cold War as true—even those parts of it that are demonstrably false." [3] The game board thus presents a map of a bipolar world according to domino theory, where the US and USSR spread influence to all other countries (except China, which is shown as a powerful card, which must be handed to the other player if used, representing China tilting from one bloc to the other), and attempt to establish control depending on the stability of a country. One scholarly analysis proposed that "[w]hile Twilight Struggle is at its core an area control game, what set its apart from being marked as a Risk clone is the combined effect of material aesthetics and design mechanics meant to embrace a particular point of view tied to the Cold War zeitgeist." [4] Taking a pretender token. You can’t take a token unless you meet one of the win conditions. Taking a token would show other players that you want to finish the game so be ready for a clash or two.

Matthews and Gupta next collaborated on Imperial Struggle: The Global Rivalry Between Britain and France, 1697–1789. Gupta characterized Twilight Struggle as an "older cousin" to Imperial Struggle. [35] Online play [ edit ] Matthews, Gupta, Jason, Ananda (September 2016). Twilight Struggle: The Cold War, 1945-89, Deluxe Edition Rule Book. Hanford, California: GMT Games. pp.20–30. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list ( link) Meanwhile, individual cards reference not only major historical happenings, such " Marshall Plan", " Destalinisation", and "Captured Nazi Scientists", which invokes Operation Paperclip, but small-scale ones, such as "Yuri and Samantha", based on schoolgirl Samantha Smith's visit to the Soviet Union. Other events reflect the culture of the Cold War, such as " Voice of America" and " Olympic Games", which allows one player to boycott the Games. A few are metatextual, such as " How I Learned To Stop Worrying" and " Wargames", both referring to films about the Cold War and even wargames themselves. [6] Development [ edit ] Many event cards are decorated with historic photographs, such as this image of Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan for "The Reformer", a USSR event. Other cards use colored illustrations, like the flag of NATO for the "NATO" US event. Tactical – they represent predominantly skirmish type battles. The map usually represents a battleground where players get to control individual units such as tanks, soldiers, cannons, etc. Twilight Struggle" (PDF). Inside GMT. Winter 2005. p.3. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2005.

a b Roeder, Oliver (December 31, 2014). "Designing The Best Board Game On The Planet". FiveThirtyEight . Retrieved July 7, 2019. With prototype map.One of the defining features of Cold War strategic warfare was the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction – each major power bloc maintained enough destructive strategic nuclear armaments to wipe out the opposition’s population, industrial capability, military power, and will to fight. DEFCON was one of the first strategy games to truly illustrate the strategic nature of nuclear warfare in broad strokes. Movement – mobilize your units on the map to get that strategic placement. Once combat is completed, then you would declare your non-combat moves The term "cold" is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, but both sides each supported large regional wars known as "proxy wars." Interested in histrorics, politics or war games?

From here on out, whenever I think of Cold War board games, Twilight Struggle is the first thing that pops into my head. Diverse Gameplay: From intricate global strategies to intense moment-to-moment decisions, each game offers a unique playstyle. Ironically, DEFCON actually ends up being a cerebral, almost meditative game of nuclear devastation, which makes it easy to get into, understand, and then master, even though realistically nuclear war would likely be over as soon as it starts. DEFCON’s setting may be more abstract than something like Armored Brigade or Cold Waters, which are explicitly set during the Cold War, conceptually it captures the strategic landscape, military assets, and flow absolutely brilliantly. a b Engelmann, Kaarin (March 14, 2006). "Twilight Struggle – Boardgame Review". Armchair General . Retrieved July 7, 2019.

The Westeros phase represents special events that affect all players. This is the only time where you get together with other players to potentially fight common enemies, wildlings. The final phase is the war phase where players battle for contested territories. Each player uses their war advantage board and chooses the advantages they want using coins. Once both players have made their choices, their war board is revealed, and the battle is resolved. Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition encapsulates the geopolitical struggle between the US and the USSR. Players find themselves in a tug-of-war for political influence across a divided globe, where every move can alter the course of history. Designed for two players, this game requires you to outmaneuver your opponent in a battle of wits mirroring the actual events of the Cold War. Witness the struggle at Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition. Quartermaster General: Three-Way Power Struggle a b c Gaynor, Michael J. (July 17, 2018). "They created maybe the best board game ever. Now, Putin is making it relevant again". The Washington Post Magazine . Retrieved July 7, 2019.