¶ Twilight Struggle
"Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms –– but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle..." - John F. Kennedy
Twilight Struggle soared into popular lists of the best boardgames ever released within a few years of its publication in 2012, and continues to be recognized as one of the most compelling two-player boardgames ever released, with near infinite replayability and strategic challenge. If you are new to the game, you will find Twilight Struggle an incredibly rewarding experience that justifies the minimal investment in time needed to learn the rules.
The game itself is a strategic simulation of the Cold War in which one player assumes the role of the USSR and the other attempts to contain them as the US. The game takes place over 10 rounds in which the critical events of the Cold War may or may not be played depending on which cards and dealt and played to which player. Will Castro take Cuba? And will the powers fall into or manage nuclear brinkmanship? Every game is different.
The defining mechanic of Twilight Struggle is that as players must choose to use cards for the "events" described on them, or play those cards for points -- in which case the event will always fire if it is an "opponent" event. This results in a game of crisis management as players seek to dominate regions to score points from doing so, while defusing crises that can be triggered by their own actions. Will their opponents be able to take advantage of those weaknesses, or will they be struggling with crises of their own making? These sorts of calculations lie at the heart of the game.
- Twilight Struggle source code.
¶ About the Saito Edition
In addition to the standard and optional game-modes that are popular, the Saito Edition of Twilight Struggle also supports a number of custom game modes. One of the best is our "Community Edition" that includes a large number of new cards which can enter gameplay and change the strategic balance of the game. If you're an experienced player looking for something new we'd encourage giving the Community Edition a try.
It would be remiss not to mention that the Saito Editio of Twilight Struggle is released under an open source license provided by GMT Games, which requires that one player in every game has purchased a copy. As fans of GMT Games, we remind players to kindly reward the company for their generosity and open-mindedness by purchasing a copy here.