Review Detail

Twilight Struggle is a first-class strategy boardgame where the Cold War is played in its' entirety. Influence chits are added to or removed from individual nations and fought over with card play that can directly affect the Influence through Operations Points or the cards may be played as historical Events with associated in-game effects. Rules for the Space Race, Coups, and a Defcon track that keeps the world on the edge of nuclear war are presented, though failure through starting a nuclear exchange is not rewarded. There's critical decisions that must be made every turn and TS can be very unforgiving. The general flow of the game provides a great historical feel. The rules are fairly simple, winning the game isn't.

As already mentioned in the previous review this is only a wargame in the loosest definition of the word. Armies do not at any point hit the table or move across the board, Influence does. Influence is political, cultural, religious, creative, and military in nature. BUT there is a very high amount of direct conflict (which by itself isn't the sole criteria for what constitutes a wargame) in TS, this isn't some multiplayer solitaire eurogame. Players actions against each other can be harsh and felt fairly quickly. This is not for people who try to avoid confrontation in games.

I highly recommend Twilight Struggle. Fans of history will love it. So will people who enjoy a strategically deep game that is a no-holds-barred 2-player contest. Beleive the hype, this game rocks.