Name: Twilight Struggle
Publisher: GMT Games
Designers: Jason Matthews & Ananda Gupta
Players: 2
Ages: 13+
Playing Time: 180 Minutes
1945: The world watches in wonder as the Nazi Regime and its Axis powers succumb to a miraculous defeat by the Allies, and the United States of America and Soviet Union emerge as the world's two global superpowers. Now a different battle must be waged, one between the Communist World and the Western world. Where once an alliance between the two world powers stood, a thick cloud of tension now envelops the unity as the two major world powers struggle to maintain control and prevent a nuclear meltdown. Twilight Struggle journeys through the following 45 years of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition known as the Cold War.
In Twilight Struggle, two players (the Unites States and the Soviet Union) subtly infiltrate the world in an attempt to gain the upper hand by sequentially playing cards from their hand that allow them to add and alter units on the world game board. They must make many decisions about how to play the cards in their hand,
choosing whether to create an event, such as the Arab-Israeli Conflict, or take an action, like inciting a political coup in Thailand. All have their place, but the players must determine the best time and means by which to exert the desired control. Dancing around an ever-changing DEFCON status, players wage the space race, trigger control-altering events, build political influence, inspire coups, and shift the political scene in key countries through realignment dice rolls—all in the hope to control the world and gain the victory.Twilight Struggle is not for the casual gamer. The rule book alone is 30 pages, and games rarely take less than three hours to complete. Often my husband and I must finish the game in a series of rounds, stretching over two to three days in total. The game has a steep learning curve and will likely not appeal to those with short attention spans or little attention to detail. The game is also seasoned with a good bit of luck, despite its complexity—something hardcore strategists should be aware of before leaping into the experience.
Twilight Struggle inspires knowledge and insight into the events surrounding the Cold War. I really appreciate the scope of history demonstrated in the game play, and the inherent educational value the game possesses. Key event such as the Indo-Pakistani war and the Cuban Missile Crisis bring awareness of conflicts that I may have otherwise may have overlooked, and give me a more accurate understanding of the political climate at that time. Unlike some historical games, where the value of the game lies in the nostalgic value of the history and not in the mechanic of gameplay, Twilight Struggle offers a surprising amount of strategy and careful thought. I highly recommend Twilight Struggle for both its strategic and historical benefits.
