# Twilight Struggle

Twilight Struggle is a board game for 2 players. It plays in 120–180 minutes and is meant for ages 13 and up. It is rated 8.1 out of 10 by 191 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $55.61 (United States).

- **Players:** 2
- **Playing time:** 120–180 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 13+
- **Complexity:** 3.6 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2005
- **Categories:** Political, Modern Warfare, Wargame
- **Mechanics:** Stat Check Resolution, Variable Set-up, Simulation, Events, Area Majority / Influence, Hand Management, Campaign / Battle Card Driven, Dice Rolling, Variable Player Powers, Advantage Token, Action / Event, Tug of War, Simultaneous Action Selection, Sudden Death Ending
- **Ludoya rating:** 8.1 out of 10, from 191 reviews
- **Owned by:** 374 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 831
- **Unique players:** 450

**Designers:** Ananda Gupta, Jason Matthews

**Artists:** Mark Simonitch, Rodger B. MacGowan, Guillaume Ries, Chechu Nieto, Viktor Csete

**Publishers:** GMT Games

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mathom | 48.4 € | https://mathom.es/es/guerra-fria-y-moderna/32860-twilight-struggle-8436017220780.html |
| Gigamesh | 32.95 € | https://gigamesh.com/twilight-struggle/ |
| Dungeon Marvels | 44 € | https://dungeonmarvels.com/twilight-struggle-4635.html |
| La Gameria | 44.95 € | https://gameria.es/juegos-de-mesa/twilight-struggle-1339.html |
| Ludifolie | 48.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/775-twilight-struggle-deluxe.html |
| Juegos de la Mesa Redonda | 49.46 € | https://juegosdelamesaredonda.com/132-twilight-struggle-8436017220780.html |
| Magia de Tinta | 49.95 € | https://www.magiadetinta.com/es/juegos/786-twilight-struggle-8436017220780.html |
| Snafu Store | 49.95 € | https://snafustore.com/product/twilight-struggle/ |
| Homoludicus Granollers | 55 € | https://homoludicus-granollers.org/twilight-struggle |
| Alphaspel | 759 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/356778-twilight-struggle-deluxe-edition |

## Expansions

- [Twilight Struggle: Turn Zero](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-turn-zero)
- [Twilight Struggle: Turn Zero and Promo Packs](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-turn-zero-and-promo-packs)
- [Twilight Struggle: Promo Deck](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-promo-deck)
- [Twilight Struggle: "Referendum NATO" Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-referendum-nato-promo-card)
- [Twilight Struggle: "Anni di Piombo" Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-anni-di-piombo-promo-card)
- [Twilight Struggle: "Pakt Bagdadzki" and "Stan Wojenny" Promo Cards](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-pakt-bagdadzki-and-stan-wojenny-promo-cards)
- [Twilight Struggle: "Финляндизация" Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-promo-card)
- [Twilight Struggle: "Gladio" Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-gladio-promo-card)
- [Twilight Struggle: Blame Canada Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-blame-canada-promo-card)
- [Twilight Struggle: Regime of the Colonels Promo Card](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-regime-of-the-colonels-promo-card)
- [Twilight Struggle: The Cold War Movies](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle-the-cold-war-movies)

## Similar games

- [Labyrinth: The War on Terror, 2001 – ?](https://www.ludoya.com/games/labyrinth-the-war-on-terror-2001)
- [Europe in Turmoil: Prelude to the Great War](https://www.ludoya.com/games/europe-in-turmoil-prelude-to-the-great-war)
- [1989: Dawn of Freedom](https://www.ludoya.com/games/1989-dawn-of-freedom)
- [The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire](https://www.ludoya.com/games/the-british-way-counterinsurgency-at-the-end-of-empire)
- [Churchill](https://www.ludoya.com/games/churchill)
- [Wir sind das Volk!](https://www.ludoya.com/games/wir-sind-das-volk)
- [13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962](https://www.ludoya.com/games/13-days-the-cuban-missile-crisis-1962)
- [Hannibal & Hamilcar](https://www.ludoya.com/games/hannibal-and-hamilcar)
- [1960: The Making of the President](https://www.ludoya.com/games/1960-the-making-of-the-president)
- [Imperial Struggle](https://www.ludoya.com/games/imperial-struggle)
- [Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage](https://www.ludoya.com/games/hannibal-rome-vs-carthage)
- [Combat Commander: Europe](https://www.ludoya.com/games/combat-commander-europe)

## Rules questions

### If I play a card for Operations but the event belongs to my opponent, does their event still happen?

Yes — playing a card for Operations that has an opponent-only Event still triggers that Event and your opponent implements it; the phasing player chooses whether the Event happens before or after the Operations (see pages 4–5).

### Do Realignment rolls count toward the required Military Operations each turn?

No — Realignment rolls cost 1 Operation point each but are not considered Military Operations for the turn’s required Military Operations total (see pages 6 and 7).

### Can I place Influence anywhere, or do new markers have to be adjacent to my existing influence?

Influence markers must be placed with or adjacent to friendly markers that were in place at the start of your Action Round (except when placed by Events), although you may always place markers in any country adjacent to your superpower space (see pages 5–6).

### If I attempt a Coup in a battleground country, does that affect DEFCON and could it make me lose the game?

Yes — any Coup in a Battleground country degrades DEFCON one level, and if DEFCON is degraded to 1 the phasing player who caused it immediately loses the game (see pages 6 and 7).

### In the Headline Phase, which Headline Event resolves first when both players reveal a card?

The card with the higher Headline Value (Operations value) resolves first; scoring cards count as Headline Value 0 and always resolve second, and ties are resolved with the US Headline Event going first (see page 4).

### If I play an opponent’s asterisked Event for Operations but that Event can’t occur, is the card removed from the game?

If the opponent’s Event cannot occur because a prerequisite hasn’t been met, the Event does not occur and an asterisked card is returned to the discard pile (not removed); however, if the Event is triggered and simply produces no effect it is still considered played and would be removed if asterisked (see pages 4–5).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/twilight-struggle)
- [Twilight Struggle in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/twilight-struggle)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12333)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-18. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._