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Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle

Lead the USA or USSR in the most tense geopolitical chess match of the 20th century.

Players
2
Playing time
120–180 min
Min. age
13+
Year
2005
Designer
Ananda Gupta, Jason Matthews
Share
TypeStrategy
ComplexityExpert
BGG8.2

Setup

  • Place the board in the center. Set the Victory Point marker to 0, DEFCON to 5, and the Turn marker to the starting position.

  • Separate cards into three eras (Early, Mid, Late War). Shuffle the first two eras together to form the starting deck; Late War cards are added later.

  • Place starting influence tokens: USSR in Eastern Europe, USA among its western allies.

  • Each player draws 8 cards for the first turn.

Rules

  • Each turn, players alternate playing cards. Each card can be used for its Operations value (place influence, stage a coup, or realign countries) or to trigger the printed historical event.

  • A country is controlled when one player's influence exceeds the other's by more than the country's stability rating.

  • At the end of certain turns, world regions are scored (Europe, Asia, Middle East…) based on controlled countries.

Victory conditions

Win by reaching 20 Victory Points, by controlling Europe during a scoring round, or if your opponent inadvertently drops DEFCON to 1 (automatic nuclear war). If turn 10 ends without a decisive winner, the player with the most points wins.

Frequently asked questions

How many players does Twilight Struggle need?
2 players.
How long does a game of Twilight Struggle last?
120–180 minutes.
What is the minimum age for Twilight Struggle?
From 13 years old.

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