- Deluxe Edition
- Relive the cold war and change history
- Quick-playing, low-complexity
- 2 players
- Ages 14+
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Product Features
Product Specifications
Model NumberGMT 0510-09
Batteries Required?No
Batteries Included?No
Product details
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Product Safety
This product is subject to specific safety warnings
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Product Description
Product Description
In 1945, unlikely allies toppled Hitler's war machine, while humanity's most devastating weapons forced the Japanese Empire to its knees in a storm of fire. Where once there stood many great powers, there then stood only two. The world had scant months to sigh its collective relief before a new conflict threatened. Unlike the titanic struggles of the preceding decades, this conflict would be waged not primarily by soldiers and tanks, but by spies and politicians, scientists and intellectuals, artists and traitors. Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the forty-five year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the Soviet Union and the United States. The entire world is the stage on which these two titans fight to make the world safe for their own ideologies and ways of life. The game begins amidst the ruins of Europe as the two new "superpowers" scramble over the wreckage of the Second World War, and ends in 1989, when only the United States remained standing.
Twilight Struggle inherits its fundamental systems from the card-driven classics We the People and Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage. It is a quick-playing, low-complexity game in that tradition. The game map is a world map of the period, whereon players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower. As with GMT's other card-driven games, decision-making is a challenge; how to best use one's cards and units given consistently limited resources?
Twilight Struggle's Event cards add detail and flavour to the game. They cover a vast array of historical happenings, from the Arab- Israeli conflicts of 1948 and 1967, to Vietnam and the U.S. peace movement, to the Cuban Missile Crisis and other such incidents that brought the world to the brink of nuclear annihilation. Subsystems capture the prestige-laden Space Race as well as nuclear tensions, with the possibility of game-ending nuclear war.
A deluxe edition, published in 2009 includes the following changes from the basic game:• Mounted map with revised graphics• Two double-thick counter sheets with 260 counters• Deck of 110 event cards (increased from 104)• Revised rules and player aid cards
Box Contains
Two counter sheets - 9.16inch size
Mounted Deluxe 22x34 Inch Map
110 Event Cards
Rules Booklet
Two Player Aid cards
Two 6-sided dice
Mounted Deluxe 22x34 Inch Map
110 Event Cards
Rules Booklet
Two Player Aid cards
Two 6-sided dice
Frequently Bought Together
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
It is not easy to start playing this game, the rules are not very complex but building a strategy is. After some games, it becomes an intensive game.
Long time to play, 2-3 hours. Educative.
Long time to play, 2-3 hours. Educative.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
There's a reason this game is ranked no.1 on the world's most well-known board games sites (BoardGamegeek).
Twilight Struggle can take a game or two to fully grasp the full extent and depth of the tactics involved, but is well worth the investment.
The game itself is an abstraction of the Cold War, with players taking the roles of the US and USSR, and trying to dominate the world by playing cards for either their point value or as events. The rules themselves are not too complicated, but the depth of the game is staggering, and you'll be discovering new strategies for a long time.
Twilight Struggle can take a game or two to fully grasp the full extent and depth of the tactics involved, but is well worth the investment.
The game itself is an abstraction of the Cold War, with players taking the roles of the US and USSR, and trying to dominate the world by playing cards for either their point value or as events. The rules themselves are not too complicated, but the depth of the game is staggering, and you'll be discovering new strategies for a long time.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
An amazing 2-player game that should be on every gamer's shelf. The depth is unbelievable. It will leave you craving for more.
25 May 2010
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
Twilight Struggle. Wow. What a game.
Let me say that again. What a game.
There are many reviews out there. Some of the best are posted on the boardgamegeek website. I encourage you to check them out.
If you are a gamer, you will love this game. It is pure addiction.
A casual coffee-table game it is not. As Booker noted, it will take several plays to get a sense of what's going on in terms of the deeper strategy. A skilled veteran player will destroy new players and non-gamers. So you will need to find someone who is willing to invest the same amount of time that you are.
The reason is that knowledge of every card in the deck is an absolute must to be able to play this game well. Your spirits may crumble after spending several precious rounds building influence in an area only to have a single card wipe it all away. Players who know the cards will have a better sense of where to invest and when.
But fear not--the first few plays are very enjoyable, if also played with a newbie. The experience of learning the game with someone new is really good.
After playing this game, you will be reading strategy articles on the Internet, reading the cards, looking at the board, thinking about strategy, talking with others about the game, etc. It's just that fun and engrossing.
And wow, the theme is great. Every card represents a major event that happened during the Cold War, complete with actual representative photograph from the period. The events and the pictures that represent them will draw you into the game's theme. The game booklet even contains historic descriptions of the events, so you'll learn something to boot!
Make sure that you get the latest version. As of 5/25/10, that would be the Deluxe Edition. You can read online what the differences are, but there are major revisions. It's not like buying the "collector's edition" of a game that is usually unnecessary because the regular version still contains the whole game. That's NOT the case with this game. Not only does the new version come with better components, but there have been several important changes in the game, including balance changes, and there are also new and important cards.
Happy playing!
Let me say that again. What a game.
There are many reviews out there. Some of the best are posted on the boardgamegeek website. I encourage you to check them out.
If you are a gamer, you will love this game. It is pure addiction.
A casual coffee-table game it is not. As Booker noted, it will take several plays to get a sense of what's going on in terms of the deeper strategy. A skilled veteran player will destroy new players and non-gamers. So you will need to find someone who is willing to invest the same amount of time that you are.
The reason is that knowledge of every card in the deck is an absolute must to be able to play this game well. Your spirits may crumble after spending several precious rounds building influence in an area only to have a single card wipe it all away. Players who know the cards will have a better sense of where to invest and when.
But fear not--the first few plays are very enjoyable, if also played with a newbie. The experience of learning the game with someone new is really good.
After playing this game, you will be reading strategy articles on the Internet, reading the cards, looking at the board, thinking about strategy, talking with others about the game, etc. It's just that fun and engrossing.
And wow, the theme is great. Every card represents a major event that happened during the Cold War, complete with actual representative photograph from the period. The events and the pictures that represent them will draw you into the game's theme. The game booklet even contains historic descriptions of the events, so you'll learn something to boot!
Make sure that you get the latest version. As of 5/25/10, that would be the Deluxe Edition. You can read online what the differences are, but there are major revisions. It's not like buying the "collector's edition" of a game that is usually unnecessary because the regular version still contains the whole game. That's NOT the case with this game. Not only does the new version come with better components, but there have been several important changes in the game, including balance changes, and there are also new and important cards.
Happy playing!
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Great Game!
6 Nov 2010
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
This is a great game! The instruction manual is difficult to understand and may result in you looking up specifics from wikipedia. Therefore, I would only recommend this game if you are an intense gamer and are looking for a very strategic game. This game would be difficult for younger kids and wouldn't be recommended as a family type game. I've only played this game once. It took 6 hours to play the game with 2 people, but I'm sure this will decrease with time since we had to keep referring to the rule book. Once players start remembering the different types of cards available for play it will add an additional element of strategy. The Cold War theme makes this game very unique and adds to the enjoyment level. My husband and I are gamers who enjoy games like Agricola, Descent, Talisman, and StarCraft. We are very happy with our purchase. It was worth every dollar spent and will be added to our rotation of favorite games.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A hot game about the Cold War
23 Jan 2012
Durability:
Educational:
Fun:
There's a lot of good things that can be said about Twilight Struggle, which is currently the top ranked game on BoardGameGeek. With a broad appeal that has potential to please eurogamers and wargamers alike, it's not entirely surprising that it's at the top of the pile, and regarded as one of the very best of modern board games. I picked up the Deluxe edition from GMT around this time of the year two years ago, and a family member studying the Cold War as part of a history course proved to be a good time to get it to the table. I've also been able to explore online play with a good friend.
For those who aren't familiar with this modern classic, Twilight Struggle sees two players compete against each other as the US and USSR, in a bid for world domination and influence during the Cold War era. The game is primarily driven by cards which feature key historical events that are true to the time period and reflect various elements of the tense political and military international cat-and-mouse game. Like global chess performed on the world's biggest stage, this subtle conflict ebbed and flowed in favour of both the Americans and Soviets alike during different stages, and the game captures this nicely. The cards feature events as well as action points that can be used by players to increase their influence in various countries, thus trying to control and dominate specific geopolitical regions, or to perform other actions such as military coups or advance in the space race. When played, scoring cards for these various regions are the main way that the victory points needed to win the game are earned.
The genius and tension of the game lies in the fact that when you play cards that feature events benefiting your opponent, these events will trigger even though you choose to use the card for action points, whereas an event card favourable to yourself requires you to choose between triggering the event or using the action points. This creates an enormous amount of tension, mirroring some of the feelings of this historical period. A complete game often features many micro-battles in particular regions, because when an area seems to become important to your opponent, you can rarely choose to ignore it, and simply by virtue of your opponent's interest it also becomes important to you. I particularly appreciate the historical flavour of the game, and the attention to detail. It has to be admitted that the game isn't for the faint of heart, and even though the rules are not super complex, it's definitely possible for experienced players to become good at the game by knowing the cards and making strategic choices that pay off later in the game. Ideally it also requires being able to set aside a block of three hours or so to complete a single game in one sitting. But if you can find that time and an opponent willing to take on the challenge with you, few gaming experiences can equal a tense game of Twilight Struggle with an evenly matched opponent. - EndersGame @ BGG
For those who aren't familiar with this modern classic, Twilight Struggle sees two players compete against each other as the US and USSR, in a bid for world domination and influence during the Cold War era. The game is primarily driven by cards which feature key historical events that are true to the time period and reflect various elements of the tense political and military international cat-and-mouse game. Like global chess performed on the world's biggest stage, this subtle conflict ebbed and flowed in favour of both the Americans and Soviets alike during different stages, and the game captures this nicely. The cards feature events as well as action points that can be used by players to increase their influence in various countries, thus trying to control and dominate specific geopolitical regions, or to perform other actions such as military coups or advance in the space race. When played, scoring cards for these various regions are the main way that the victory points needed to win the game are earned.
The genius and tension of the game lies in the fact that when you play cards that feature events benefiting your opponent, these events will trigger even though you choose to use the card for action points, whereas an event card favourable to yourself requires you to choose between triggering the event or using the action points. This creates an enormous amount of tension, mirroring some of the feelings of this historical period. A complete game often features many micro-battles in particular regions, because when an area seems to become important to your opponent, you can rarely choose to ignore it, and simply by virtue of your opponent's interest it also becomes important to you. I particularly appreciate the historical flavour of the game, and the attention to detail. It has to be admitted that the game isn't for the faint of heart, and even though the rules are not super complex, it's definitely possible for experienced players to become good at the game by knowing the cards and making strategic choices that pay off later in the game. Ideally it also requires being able to set aside a block of three hours or so to complete a single game in one sitting. But if you can find that time and an opponent willing to take on the challenge with you, few gaming experiences can equal a tense game of Twilight Struggle with an evenly matched opponent. - EndersGame @ BGG
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