Post by keithdone on Dec 3, 2007 12:37:33 GMT 10
I road-tested this one with John Banks last week. Twilight Struggle is an excellent 2 player card-driven board game that simulates the power struggle between the Soviet Union and the USA during the Cold War.
The board shows the world as at 1954 with each major country having status boxes to show the influence of the Soviet Union/USA on each. Theobject of the game is for players to work through a series of card decks, representing historical events of each era and use these cards to increase political influence or for military operations.
The game has an innovative card based system - each card details the historical events that it provides - some benefit the Soviet, some benefit the USA, others benefit either side. Each card also has an 'operational value' that can be used by either player.
If I am the Soviet player and I have been dealt a historical event that benefits the USA, it is in my interset to make sure that card never gets played. The easiest way to do this is to play the card in my turn as an operational card, using the points it provides for this purpose. Operational points can be used to increase political activity in a country and even enact a coup.
You do have limitations on the number of operational actions you can undertake in any given period. Too much aggression makes the Defcon scale plummet toward nuclear war. The player who forces the game into nuclear war loses the game, which immediately ends.
At the end of each era players score points for having presence in a region, more influence that the opposition in a region and control of a region.
I didn't get to finish the game I played because we only had 2 hours and we were learning the rules but I thoroughly enjoyed it, none the less. It was easy enough to learn and very informative (historically speaking). The only down-side I could see was it was a 2 player game and I usually prefer a 4-5 player game. However, I was so impressed I immediately purchased a copy for myself the next day!
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Regards,
Keith
The board shows the world as at 1954 with each major country having status boxes to show the influence of the Soviet Union/USA on each. Theobject of the game is for players to work through a series of card decks, representing historical events of each era and use these cards to increase political influence or for military operations.
The game has an innovative card based system - each card details the historical events that it provides - some benefit the Soviet, some benefit the USA, others benefit either side. Each card also has an 'operational value' that can be used by either player.
If I am the Soviet player and I have been dealt a historical event that benefits the USA, it is in my interset to make sure that card never gets played. The easiest way to do this is to play the card in my turn as an operational card, using the points it provides for this purpose. Operational points can be used to increase political activity in a country and even enact a coup.
You do have limitations on the number of operational actions you can undertake in any given period. Too much aggression makes the Defcon scale plummet toward nuclear war. The player who forces the game into nuclear war loses the game, which immediately ends.
At the end of each era players score points for having presence in a region, more influence that the opposition in a region and control of a region.
I didn't get to finish the game I played because we only had 2 hours and we were learning the rules but I thoroughly enjoyed it, none the less. It was easy enough to learn and very informative (historically speaking). The only down-side I could see was it was a 2 player game and I usually prefer a 4-5 player game. However, I was so impressed I immediately purchased a copy for myself the next day!
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Regards,
Keith