Mutual Assured Destruction on the Kitchen Table

 by Andrew MacLeod

Though not a "simulation game" in the traditional wargame sense, Twilight Struggle is an excellent portrayal of the tensions of the Cold War. Although both card driven and making occasional use of a die roll, it is amazing how much thought is required before a player can safely make a decision. "Safely"? Well, actually, there are very, very few guarantees in this game your knowledge of your opponent's cards is (once in a blue moon) limited, and most of the time, it's non-existent. On your turn, you play a card either for the historical event it portrays, or for the operation points it holds. The operation points can be used to spread your ideology around the globe, force nations to re-consider alignments, launch coups, or attempt to gain prestige in the space race. The problem is, if you use the ops points, and the event on that card is of use to the opponent, the enemy gets to use that event....to your detriment! And just playing recklessly and blindly won't work: at worst, you could trigger a nuclear war, which results in immediate victory for your OPPONENT! I doubt there will ever be a strategy guide published for Twilight Struggle, since the card draw and dice rolls add an unnerving degree of uncertainty to the game. There are wise and foolish things that a player can do, most definitely, but the game really boils down to a herculean effort of maintaining balance with your opponent (at least), and to continually engage in damage control. "Twilight Struggle: The Game of Uncertainty Management", one could say. The negatives? It's hard at a glance to tally up who's in control of what region at any time some sort of a control chart would have been nice. And the gameboard (although not unattractive, and certainly workable) is made with a fairly cheap cardboard type of material.

View Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition