GMT Games, Twilight Struggle the Cold War 1945-1989 Deluxe Edition, Board Game, Ages 14+, 2 Players, 30+ Minutes Playing time

In Twilight Struggle each player assumes the role of one of the cold war super powers (USA or USSR) in an effort to gain world influence, perform dramatic coups and lead their country away from nuclear war and to victory!The game contains:- A large cardboard map of the world- Around 100 or so counters with which to keep track of various board elements- 100 cards split into three decks representing events from the Early, Middle and Late stages of the war- Two dice, coloured for each playerThe aim of the game is to play a selection of the cards from your hand in each turn, using either the event written on the card to affect your opponent, or the value on the card to affect your own influence. The twist is that each card is associated with a particular player, and if you are forced to play a card associated with your opponent the event is played automatically - which can be very bad for you!Victory points are won and lost according to regions controlled (Africa, Europe, Middle East, etc.) by each player at the time a scoring card is played for that region. Therefore each turn is a battle of strategy to fight for control of any regions that you think might be "scored" in a particular turn. The ebb and flow of the influence and victory points is recorded using a clever points system, which displays points as a kind of "swing-ometer". Points initially start in the middle at 0, with the Russians attempting to reach -20 and the Americans attempting to reach 20. Therefore the closer one player gets to winning, the further the other player is. When one side reaches 20 victory points, or when 10 turns have elapsed, the game is over.Pros:- A very tactical, very involving game for 2 players- Great board design makes it easy to remember the setup without having to refer to the rulebook- The strategic decisions you make outweigh any elements of luck that the dice rolling and card dealing introduce. You never feel like any loss or victory was "cheap".- The design of the pieces and cards is very thematic. Very clear designs on the counters makes it easy to track them.- For such a deep game it's surprisingly easy to teach and to pick up.- The instructions give a great history of all the events on the cards, so you can learn more about the history of the war whilst you play.Cons:- The game can be loooong. A game between seasoned players that goes the full 10 turns can last upwards of three hours.- The game can seem unbalanaced. In an effort to be more realistic, the game setup favours the USSR whilst the end game cards favour the Americans. This can lead to many initial games ending early with big USSR victories. It's not easy to figure out a good American strategy.- Some mixtures of cards and the order they are resolved in can lead to scenarios not explicitly defined in the rules. Fortunately there is a large online community who have encountered most situations before, so the answer is a quick search away.- The board, whilst well designed, is folded in a way that the backing (which is quite heavy) can, if folded the wrong way by accident, rip the hinges. It's really not too big a deal - just be careful!Overall, the main complaint is that the game can stretch on for a long time. However, if you've got some time on a rainy day and you want to experience probably the best two player game since chess, I thoroughly recommend this product.

I usually play Twilight Struggle online via playdek where you can play with others within the TS Community, but do have a physical copy. What can i say about it - as a back and forth two player game where you play as either the USA or USSR taking alternate rolls it has a certain chess like feel about it, easy(ish) to understand the rules but could take you a lifetime to properly master the nuances.The mechanics of the game are simply sublime with so many things to try and do at once, keep aware of and understand (especially if you play at the league level like i do) however once you get it, you will get hooked as it is unlike any other game i have ever played or seen, and definately more like a boardgame version of chess - it is also like the game that Risk wishes it was - a much more in depth and interesting version where you are trying to spread influence of your side around the globe in an attempt to control countries and regions so that you can score victory points (first to + 20 more than your opponent wins) however there are other ways to win (or lose) the game from Defcon issues (nuclear war) where if you trigger it you lose the game instantly to final scoring to a certain late war card that you should be aware of at the beginning as an possible ending event along with holding a scoring card (instant loss as well at the end of the turn)Card driven game with cards representing historical events and corresponding auto actions that occur with them and Ops points that can be used in a variety of ways (Placing / spreading your influence into connected countries, Couping a country, going to the space race and attempting to realign your opponents countries) however the strategic element comes from playing an opponents event - the event happens for your opponent anyway (Neutral and Own events do not) or you could choose to play your own event instead.As the game develops more of the map and cards open up in three main stages (Early, Mid and Late war) each shifting focus to other areas of the map - Early is mainly Europe, Asia and Middle east, and then spreads across the board by the mid war driven by the scoring cards that are shuffled into the deck and must be played during your turn or you lose the game.There are multiple mechanics in play, Defcon, Military Ops and Space race going on along with the influence being spread on the board, it may look on the surface as a series of numbers on a map but when you get it yuou understand how nuanced, in depth and detailed it is with almost limitless replayability (will never get old and boring every game can go in so many different directions) just ensure when your learning to play with someone of similar experience levels (or download the game on playdek (Steam / Android) and practice against the AIOverall the very best boardgame i have ever played by an absolute mile almost to the point where i sometimes would consider it a tabletop sport rather than a game as such - just buy it if your into boardgames and enjoy - wont be for everyone but for a lot of people it is the perfect game of balance, strategy, skill, luck and tension (the games mechanics make every action and reaction feel like a life or death decision in the game and really gives the feel of the cold war)A masterpiece of game design - thank you to the designers!Matt

This is a tense game, I often wish it were over quickly when things are going badly (the 'suspense' is too much) but this is a good thing... I keep playing as it holds me rapt as the struggle continues. Not a quick game for every weekend but a pleasure to leave for the right time.Some of the cards could be better explained, but check out the boardgamegeek website for FAQs etc.I would have given it 5 stars except my usual two victims (ahem... 'opponents') and I can't seem to keep track of the action rounds and sometimes have trouble working out which round we are on... I only wish that this was easier and natural. I feel sure we can't be alone in this.