The Struggle Will Last Well Past Twilight, But So Will The Fun

Twilight Struggle

Designed by Ananda Gupta and Jason Mathews

Published by GMT Games

2 Players

3 Hours

Card Management, Area Control, Dice Rolling

(10/10 Stars)

Becoming the top rated game on Board Game Geek is an impressive feat, especially for a long (2 to 3 hours, or 4 for your first few times) two player risk-like game.  This would not be the case if "casual gamers" had their way, but the truth is - even people who may not usually enjoy longer two player strategy games recognize the brilliance of this game.

It may not always be the game that gets to the table the most often, but it definitely is one of the most well designed games that I have had the pleasure of playing and reviewing.

I was given a copy of the deluxe version from GMT Games for the purpose of this review.  The components in this version are fantastic.  The board is beautiful and well laid out.  There are a couple of things that I wish was a bit different though: I wish the slight color contrast between regions was a bit greater making it easier to quickly see regions and I really really wish the action round track was somehow along the bottom of the board, the side of the board, or a separate little board.  One of the things I have struggled with most with the game is forgetting to move that marker and it would help if it was closer.  Not a huge deal, and I will probably just make my own track to do this.

The quality of the cards is good, but I do wish it was nice linen type quality instead (I'm a card snob - once you have had deluxe cards its hard to go back!).

One of the biggest things that I think this game has going for it is actually the use of theme.  This game hands down is the best application of a theme.  The game successfully oozes theme in every little thing.  The tension and tug-a-war feel is very reminiscent of the cold war (or so it seems - I guess I don't really remember much and wasn't even alive for much of it).  Although, side note, it seems like with everything going on in the world today (especially with Russia) that another "cold war" doesn't seem to far off.  That is another great thing with Twilight Struggle and the theme - it is something very real.

The game mechanics are also very well designed and utilize the theme well.  It does have a strong Risk-like feel to it, but even with some dice rolling, the game seems much more strategic to me.  The dice rolling isn't necessarily a bad thing either in my opinion to keep some sort of luck element to it on key decisions makes the game have that tension!  It can be frustrating of course when you always seem to roll the wrong numbers, but it doesn't completely make the game unbeatable for you.

I'm amazed at how simple the game really is.  There isn't too much more to it than some other strategy games that people play - but Twilight definitely has a learning curve.  The game uses cards based on real events, people, wars etc. - and knowing how these cards interact with each other and when to play certain cards and when to send cards to the space race is very important and will come with experience.  I have played  a few games now, and I think learning the game with another player is the best way to go (in other words, you will both be learning the game together and one person won't have an edge on the other).

The game is just so good!  The game does favor the USSR in the early game, and from what I have read - USSR wins about 60 percent of the time compared to the USA at 40 percent.  The few times I have played this and have switched superpowers - Russia has won every time.  I like the challenge that brings, but it is something that worries me somewhat about the game.  USA does have some edge gained during the mid-war it seems, but maybe it could be a little more balanced in that regard?

I love this game and I am giving it a 10/10.  Will it be my most played game in my collection?  Probably not, given the length of the game, but I definitely enjoy Twilight Struggle a lot and that is How Lou Sees It!

(I was provided a free review copy of this game from GMT Games.  There is a more detailed video review below.  If you liked this video review, please like and follow!)

Risky Business

Day 67 - RISK: The Lord of the Rings
Designed by Stephen Baker and Jean-Rene Vernes

How do you make a classic like Risk better? Add a Lord of the Rings theme with multiple ways to play! I think that this is one of the few "themed" classic games that actually improves on the original and really adds to the game other than just the "theme."

First of all, let's look just review RISK for a moment. World domination made easy. The game still has a lot of the luck factor, but that is what makes the game unpredictable and entertaining. Strategically attacking certain locations and fortifying others. The game can last a long time, but that is half the fun with RISK. A big SHOUT OUT to my old physics teacher who had an old school computer version of RISK that was played quite frequently.

RISK: The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy Edition) really provides a lot. The map is obviously different than the usual world map (a map of Middle Earth) and the game includes 4 sets of armies (2 evil and 2 good). The pieces are good quality and so is the board and cards. So, you can play normal RISK on the new board, or you can play the "point" version, or you can play different team versions as well. The game can be played with the fellowship (represented by a ring) moving along throughout the board. The ring is used as a time piece limiting the game to a certain length (which I really enjoy) and in certain versions of the game if the good team destroys the ring they win, and if the evil team captures the ring along the way they win. [Funny story about this actually. It takes a while to set up the game, and after all the time and effort put into this, the evil team captured the ring on their very first turn. The game was over within a few minutes after it took us about 30 to 40 minutes to set up the game. If I remember correctly, we decided to note the win, but restart the game using the same set up.]

I highly recommend this game to fans of The Lord of the Rings and fans of RISK. If you have not played RISK before, I would probably recommend playing the original prior to playing this version, although it isn't necessary. It is a very well done game and I really enjoy it when I have the time to play it and that is How Lou Sees It.