#279 in Toys & Games
Reddit mentions of GMT Games Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition
Sentiment score: 5
Reddit mentions: 6
We found 6 Reddit mentions of GMT Games Twilight Struggle Deluxe Edition. Here are the top ones.
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2-player gameGreat strategy gameTakes about 3 hours to playHistorical simulation game2-player gameGreat strategy gamePlaying time is over 3 hoursHistorical simulation game
Specs:
| Color | Multicolor |
| Height | 2.125 Inches |
| Length | 12 Inches |
| Number of items | 1 |
| Release date | January 2014 |
| Weight | 3.527396192 Pounds |
| Width | 9.125 Inches |
Sure!
Very generally...
An instant after the last shot of WWII was fired the USA and USSR began positioning themselves to be the post-war power of tomorrow. Each side piled up troop upon troop, weapon upon weapon and puppet state upon puppet state. Their increasingly preposterous armaments and massive nuclear arsenals meant that Mutually Assured Destruction^tm would be unavoidable should they come to true blows so they took to fighting proxy wars everywhere, flooding crucial countries with propaganda, terrorizing unfriendly regions with psychological warfare, engaging in absurdly complex espionage schemes and jockeying for position on the race to dominate space.
[All of this is represented in the essential elements of Twilight Struggle - DEFCON, influence, Space Race]
In this sea of chaos navigated with brinksmanship neither the USA or USSR could ever throw their full weight behind one particular venture or another lest they risk making a 'cold' war 'hot' by raining nuclear fire across the globe.
"We may be likened to two scorpions in a bottle, each capable of killing the other, but only at the risk of his own life."
Oppenheimer
So they pulled marionette strings... a brush war here, a coup d'etat there and countless CIA/KGB agents to make up the middle. Both sides were moving with extreme caution and had to weigh enemy benefit against their own aims - political capital used to assassinate a President in Chile would mean assured copper finances at the cost of continental ill will, the support of a grossly loyal Shah might gain momentary regional control but domino into outright revolution and expulsion... the list goes on and on.
Given the narrow band of operational flex the two superpowers were operating under any gains would come at a cost... and over the course of 50 odd years the dance for domination was a true zero-sum game.
[One eg in TS terms - 'Warsaw Pact Formed': 3ops (that's a lot of ops!) if played by the US but the USSR can add a ton of influence in Europe or blow away whatever gains the US has made there... but it has the added US "bonus" of allowing NATO to pop when played for its event when by the USSR for ops... plans within plans within plans :)]
Anyway, that's the 30,000ft view of the thing... if you'd like a real granular level analysis I'd recommend starting with Kissinger. And if you like that there's a lot more where it came from!
And if you haven't... play Twilight Struggle!
Outside of Chess it's the best board game I've played.
This is $885.78 total so you have $114.22 left over for shipping/additional cost etc.
Would then proceed to spend the next year reacquiring all of LotR:LCG and waiting for a reprint of Indonesia.
If you're looking for bang for your buck (and without knowing what you have/like) you could try something like Terra Mystica, Agricola or Twilight Struggle.
You could probably do Agircola + 7 Wonders for close to $70.
You can certainly pair a couple of ~$30 games for a nice combo.
Well-known, great games in that range: Power Grid, Puerto Rico, 7 Wonders, Pandemic, Dominion, Castles of Burgundy, Race for the Galaxy... other games that are at that price point: Flash Point, Spelndor, TTR, Carcassonne...
There are plenty in the $40 bracket as well (Twilight Struggle, Stone Age, Tzolk'in, 5 Tribes...)
If you want to get a good deal, just look for the highest %off. This is kind of a misnomer because Amazon frequently adjusts these numbers. If you use something like camelcamelcamel it could help you track the price history of items, letting you know if you are actually getting a good price.
You might also just say you've got that ~$70 to spend on as many games as possible. If you go that route, I recommend Coup, The Resistance: Avalon, Jaipur, Hanabi, Hive and Friday.
Me and my girlfriend really enjoy The Duke, it is a chess like game with changing rules for your units, and new units added. You start with your Duke and 2 footmen. Each turn you can choose to move, or draw a new piece. When you move the rules for moving change. (ie one move the Footman can move in cardinal directions, the next he must move diagonally) It is a lot of fun, quite easy to learn and very re-playable. Note - we got this for about 30 USD, so I would wait until Amazon restocks rather than dropping that much money on it right now.
Hive is also a 'chess-like' game. Less of a board game, and more of an anywhere game, as your pieces form the board. Again, each piece has its own rules, but learning the game and rules is very quick and straightforward. It's a great spur of the moment game, and has ever evolving strategy. I have linked to the 'Carbon' version as it includes two expansion pieces and is nearly the same cost as original.Have fun gaming! :)
EDIT: Someone suggested Hive while I was typing :( So I'm throwing Twilight Struggle into the mix as well. It is a card driven board game where each player acts as one of the Cold War superpowers. You attempt to influence other nations and win as many allies as possible. The play is quick, it is very deep and strategic, yet not...complex. It is a lot of fun. The only negative I can say about it is time. It often takes 2+ hours to play through.
But you are literally saying the exact same thing xTheOOBx was saying other than "I don't agree".
If the game is well stocked, it is significantly cheaper than local stores. If it isn't well stocked, it is only a little bit cheaper than your local stores. The only exception is MayFair games, where they have a cap on their retail discount.
And for what it is worth:
BGG Top 10
Some other games I just stumbled across.
24% Off,
31% Off, 34% Off
It looks like when I said "frequently between 30% and 40%, I was pretty damn close. It's okay to want to support the local game stores, as we all have said, they provide something more than just the game. I visit the same exact stores you do, and I know "not that much cheaper" is down right false. Buying games online is almost a buy 2-3 get 1 free - and that's not considering any significant sale.
Here's what I'd do if I had to rebuild a collection from scratch for $1k trying to have a wide variety of play styles:
7 Wonders $32.99
Agricola $45.79
Battlestar Galactica $39.97
Carcassonne $30.02
Carcassonne Inns & Cathedrals$15.71
Dixit $22.65
Dominion Big Box $69.18 Prosperity is one of the best expansions; Alchemy is not, but you're pretty much getting it for free in this set.
Eclipse $61.49 It wouldn't be a board game library without a 4X game, and I think Eclipse is the best currently.
Eldritch Horror $40.47 - I love Arkham Horror, but Eldritch streamlines a lot of the fiddly rules of the original.
Formula D [$41.96] (http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-FDUSASM-Formula-D/dp/2914849648/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1395757676&sr=1-1&keywords=formula+d)
Gloom $17.98
Guillotine $13.52
King of Tokyo $30.19
Love Letter $9.34
Memoir 44 $47.43
No Thanks! $9.98
Pandemic $31.65
Power Grid $32.27
Puerto Rico [$31.20] (http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-195RGG-Puerto/dp/B00008URUT/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395756360&sr=8-1&keywords=puerto+rico)
Race for the Galaxy $24.11
Resistance, The $17.99
Roborally $37.49
Settlers of Catan $37.99
Telestrations $19.99 Awesome and funny party game. My friends and I eventually tire of Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, but seldom do so with this.
Ticket to Ride $37.24
Ticket to Ride 1910 Expansion $18.21
Tsuro $24.22
Twilight Struggle $49.98
Village $35.47
Wits & Wagers $19.99
That comes up to $946.47; room for a couple more expansions or another game.