Twilight Struggle Card List

Early War

# Title Ops Text
1 Asia Scoring 0 Presence: 3; Domination: 7; Control: 9; +1 VP per controlled Battleground country in Region; +1 VP per country controlled that is adjacent to enemy superpower; MAY NOT BE HELD!
2 Europe Scoring 0 Presence: 3; Domination: 7; Control: Automatic Victory; +1 VP per controlled Battleground country in Region; +1 VP per country controlled that is adjacent to enemy superpower; MAY NOT BE HELD!
3 Middle East Scoring 0 Presence: 3; Domination: 5; Control: 7; +1 VP per controlled Battleground country in Region; MAY NOT BE HELD!
4 Duck and Cover 3 Degrade the DEFCON level by 1. The US receives VP equal to 5 minus the current DEFCON level.
5 Five Year Plan 3 The USSR must randomly discard a card. If the card has a US associated Event, the Event occurs immediately. If the card has a USSR associated Event or an Event applicable to both players, then the card must be discarded without triggering the Event.
6 The China Card 4 This card begins the game with the USSR. When played, the player receives +1 Operations to the Operations value of this card if it uses all its Operations in Asia. It is passed to the opponent once played. A player receives 1 VP for holding this card at the end of Turn 10.
7 Socialist Governments 3 Remove a total of 3 US Influence from any countries in Western Europe (removing no more than 2 Influence per country). This Event cannot be used after the “#83 – The Iron Lady” Event has been played.
8 Fidel* 2 Remove all US Influence from Cuba. USSR adds sufficient Influence in Cuba for Control.
9 Vietnam Revolts* 2 Add 2 USSR Influence to Vietnam. For the remainder of the turn, the USSR receives +1 Operations to the Operations value of a card that uses all its Operations in Southeast Asia.
10 Blockade* 1 Unless the US immediately discards a card with an Operations value of 3 or more, remove all US Influence from West Germany.
11 Korean War* 2 North Korea invades South Korea. Roll a die and subtract (-1) from the die roll for every US controlled country adjacent to South Korea. On a modified die roll of 4-6, the USSR receives 2 VP and replaces all US Influence in South Korea with USSR Influence. The USSR adds 2 to its Military Operations Track.
12 Romanian Abdication* 1 Remove all US Influence from Romania. The USSR adds sufficient Influence to Romania for Control.
13 Arab-Israeli War 2 Pan-Arab Coalition invades Israel. Roll a die and subtract (-1) from the die roll for Israel, if it is US controlled, and for every US controlled country adjacent to Israel. On a modified die roll of 4-6, the USSR receives 2 VP and replaces all US Influence in Israel with USSR Influence. The USSR adds 2 to its Military Operations Track. This Event cannot be used after the “#65 – Camp David Accords” Event has been played.
14 Comecon* 3 Add 1 USSR Influence to each of 4 non-US controlled countries of Eastern Europe.
15 Nasser* 1 Add 2 USSR Influence to Egypt. The US removes half, rounded up, of its Influence from Egypt.
16 Warsaw Pact Formed* 3 Remove all US influence from 4 countries in Eastern Europe or add 5 USSR Influence to any countries in Eastern Europe (adding no more than 2 Influence per country). This Event allows the “#21 – NATO” card to be played as an Event.
17 De Gaulle Leads France* 3 Remove 2 US Influence from France and add 1 USSR Influence to France. This Event cancels the effect(s) of the “#21 – NATO” Event for France only.
18 Captured Nazi Scientist* 1 Move the Space Race Marker ahead by 1 space.
19 Truman Doctrine* 1 Remove all USSR Influence from a single uncontrolled country in Europe.
20 Olympic Games 2 This player sponsors the Olympics. The opponent must either participate or boycott. If the opponent participates, each player rolls a die and the sponsor adds 2 to their roll. The player with the highest modified die roll receives 2 VP (reroll ties). If the opponent boycotts, degrade the DEFCON level by 1 and the sponsor may conduct Operations as if they played a 4 Ops card.
21 NATO* 4 The USSR cannot make Coup Attempts or Realignment rolls against any US controlled countries in Europe. US controlled countries in Europe cannot be attacked by play of the “#36 – Brush War” Event. This card requires prior play of either the “#16 – Warsaw Pact Formed” or “#23 – Marshall Plan” Event(s) in order to be played as an Event.
22 Independent Reds* 2 Add US Influence to either Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, or Czechoslovakia so that it equals the USSR Influence in that country.
23 Marshall Plan* 4 Add 1 US Influence to each of any 7 non-USSR controlled countries in Western Europe. This Event allows the “#21 – NATO” card to be played as an Event.
24 Indo-Pakistani War 2 India invades Pakistan or vice versa (player’s choice). Roll a die and subtract (-1) from the die roll for every enemy controlled country adjacent to the target of the invasion (India or Pakistan). On a modified die roll of 4-6, the player receives 2 VP and replaces all the opponent’s Influence in the target country with their Influence. The player adds 2 to its Military Operations Track.
25 Containment* 3 All Operations cards played by the US, for the remainder of this turn, receive +1 to their Operations value (to a maximum of 4 Operations per card).
26 CIA Created* 1 The USSR reveals their hand of cards for this turn. The US may use the Operations value of this card to conduct Operations.
27 US/Japan Mutual Defense Pact* 4 The US adds sufficient Influence to Japan for Control. The USSR cannot make Coup Attempts or Realignment rolls against Japan.
28 Suez Crisis* 3 Remove a total of 4 US Influence from France, the United Kingdom and Israel (removing no more than 2 Influence per country).
29 East European Unrest 3 Early or Mid War: Remove 1 USSR Influence from 3 countries in Eastern Europe. Late War: Remove 2 USSR Influence from 3 countries in Eastern Europe.
30 Decolonization 2 Add 1 USSR Influence to each of any 4 countries in Africa and/or Southeast Asia.
31 Red Scare/Purge 4 All Operations cards played by the opponent, for the remainder of this turn, receive -1 to their Operations value (to a minimum value of 1 Operations point).
32 UN Intervention 1 Play this card simultaneously with a card containing an opponent’s associated Event. The opponent’s associated Event is canceled but you may use the Operations value of the opponent’s card to conduct Operations. This Event cannot be played during the Headline Phase.
33 De-Stalinization* 3 The USSR may reallocate up to a total of 4 Influence from one or more countries to any non-US controlled countries (adding no more than 2 Influence per country).
34 Nuclear Test Ban 4 The player receives VP equal to the current DEFCON level minus 2 then improves the DEFCON level by 2.
35 Formosan Resolution* 2 If this card’s Event is in effect, Taiwan will be treated as a Battleground country, for scoring purposes only, if Taiwan is US controlled when the Asia Scoring Card is played. This Event is cancelled after the US has played the “#6 – The China Card” card.
103 Defectors 2 The US may play this card during the Headline Phase in order to cancel the USSR Headline Event (including a scoring card). The canceled card is placed into the discard pile. If this card is played by the USSR during its action round, the US gains 1 VP.

Mid War

# Title Ops Text
36 Brush War 3 The player attacks any country with a stability number of 1 or 2. Roll a die and subtract (-1) from the die roll for every adjacent enemy controlled country. On a modified die roll of 3-6, the player receives 1 VP and replaces all the opponent’s Influence in the target country with their Influence. The player adds 3 to its Military Operations Track.
37 Central America Scoring 0 Presence: 1; Domination: 3; Control: 5; +1 VP per controlled Battleground country in Region; +1 VP per country controlled that is adjacent to enemy superpower; MAY NOT BE HELD!
38 Southeast Asia Scoring* 0 1 VP each for Control of Burma, Cambodia/Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. 2 VP for Control of Thailand; MAY NOT BE HELD!
39 Arms Race 3 Compare each player’s value on the Military Operations Track. If the phasing player has a higher value than their opponent on the Military Operations Track, that player receives 1 VP. If the phasing player has a higher value than their opponent, and has met the “required” amount, on the Military Operations Track, that player receives 3 VP instead.
40 Cuban Missile Crisis* 3 Set the DEFCON level to 2. Any Coup Attempts by your opponent, for the remainder of this turn, will result in Global Thermonuclear War. Your opponent will lose the game. This card’s Event may be canceled, at any time, if the USSR removes 2 Influence from Cuba or the US removes 2 Influence from West Germany or Turkey.
41 Nuclear Subs* 2 US Operations used for Coup Attempts in Battleground countries, for the remainder of this turn, do not degrade the DEFCON level. This card’s Event does not apply to any Event that would affect the DEFCON level (ex. the “#40 – Cuban Missile Crisis” Event).
42 Quagmire* 3 On the US’s next action round, it must discard an Operations card with a value of 2 or more and roll 1-4 on a die to cancel this Event. Repeat this Event for each US action round until the US successfully rolls 1-4 on a die. If the US is unable to discard an Operations card, it must play all of its scoring cards and then skip each action round for the rest of the turn. This Event cancels the effect(s) of the “#106 – NORAD” Event (if applicable).
43 SALT Negotiations* 3 Improve the DEFCON level by 2. For the remainder of the turn, both players receive -1 to all Coup Attempt rolls. The player of this card’s Event may look through the discard pile, pick any 1 non-scoring card, reveal it to their opponent and then place the drawn card into their hand.
44 Bear Trap* 3 On the USSR’s next action round, it must discard an Operations card with a value of 2 or more and roll 1-4 on a die to cancel this Event. Repeat this Event for each USSR action round until the USSR successfully rolls 1-4 on a die. If the USSR is unable to discard an Operations card, it must play all of its scoring cards and then skip each action round for the rest of the turn.
45 Summit 1 Both players roll a die. Each player receives +1 to the die roll for each Region (Europe, Asia, etc.) they Dominate or Control. The player with the highest modified die roll receives 2 VP and may degrade or improve the DEFCON level by 1 (do not reroll ties).
46 How I Learned to Stop Worrying* 2 Set the DEFCON level to any level desired (1-5). The player adds 5 to its Military Operations Track.
47 Junta 2 Add 2 Influence to a single country in Central or South America. The player may make free Coup Attempts or Realignment rolls in either Central or South America using the Operations value of this card.
48 Kitchen Debates* 1 If the US controls more Battleground countries than the USSR, the US player uses this Event to poke their opponent in the chest and receive 2 VP!
49 Missile Envy 2 Exchange this card for your opponent’s highest value Operations card. If 2 or more cards are tied, opponent chooses. If the exchanged card contains an Event applicable to yourself or both players, it occurs immediately. If it contains an opponent’s Event, use the Operations value (no Event). The opponent must use this card for Operations during their next action round.
50 “We Will Bury You”* 4 Degrade the DEFCON level by 1. Unless the #32 UN Intervention card is played as an Event on the US’s next action round, the USSR receives 3 VP.
51 Brezhnev Doctrine* 3 All Operations cards played by the USSR, for the remainder of this turn, receive +1 to their Operations value (to a maximum of 4 Operations per card).
52 Portuguese Empire Crumbles* 2 Add 2 USSR Influence to Angola and the SE African States.
53 South African Unrest 2 The USSR either adds 2 Influence to South Africa or adds 1 Influence to South Africa and 2 Influence to a single country adjacent to South Africa.
54 Allende* 1 Add 2 USSR Influence to Chile.
55 Willy Brandt* 2 The USSR receives 1 VP and adds 1 Influence to West Germany. This Event cancels the effect(s) of the “#21 – NATO” Event for West Germany only. This Event is prevented / canceled by the “#96 – Tear Down this Wall” Event.
56 Muslim Revolution 4 Remove all US Influence from 2 of the following countries: Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan. This Event cannot be used after the “#110 – AWACS Sale to Saudis” Event has been played.
57 ABM Treaty 4 Improve the DEFCON level by 1 and then conduct Operations using the Operations value of this card.
58 Cultural Revolution* 3 If the US has the “#6 – The China Card” card, the US must give the card to the USSR (face up and available to be played). If the USSR already has “#6 – The China Card” card, the USSR receives 1 VP.
59 Flower Power* 4 The USSR receives 2 VP for every US played “War” card (Arab-Israeli War, Korean War, Brush War, Indo-Pakistani War, Iran-Iraq War), used for Operations or an Event, after this card is played. This Event is prevented / canceled by the “#97 – ‘An Evil Empire’” Event.
60 U2 Incident* 3 The USSR receives 1 VP. If the “#32 – UN Intervention” Event is played later this turn, either by the US or the USSR, the USSR receives an additional 1 VP.
61 OPEC 3 The USSR receives 1 VP for Control of each of the following countries: Egypt, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Gulf States, Venezuela. This Event cannot be used after the “#86 – North Sea Oil” Event has been played.
62 “Lone Gunman”* 1 The US reveals their hand of cards. The USSR may use the Operations value of this card to conduct Operations.
63 Colonial Rear Guards 2 Add 1 US Influence to each of any 4 countries in Africa and/or Southeast Asia.
64 Panama Canal Returned* 1 Add 1 US Influence to Panama, Costa Rica and Venezuela.
65 Camp David Accords* 2 The US receives 1 VP and adds 1 Influence to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. This Event prevents the “#13 – Arab-Israeli War” card from being played as an Event.
66 Puppet Governments* 2 The US may add 1 Influence to 3 countries that do not contain Influence from either the US or USSR.
67 Grain Sales to Soviets 2 The US randomly selects 1 card from the USSR’s hand (if available). The US must either play the card or return it to the USSR. If the card is returned, or the USSR has no cards, the US may use the Operations value of this card to conduct Operations.
68 John Paul II Elected Pope* 2 Remove 2 USSR Influence from Poland and add 1 US Influence to Poland. This Event allows the “#101 – Solidarity” card to be played as an Event.
69 Latin American Death Squads 2 All of the phasing player’s Coup Attempts in Central and South America, for the remainder of this turn, receive +1 to their die roll. All of the opponent’s Coup Attempts in Central and South America, for the remainder of this turn, receive -1 to their die roll.
70 OAS Founded* 1 Add a total of 2 US Influence to any countries in Central or South America.
71 Nixon Plays the China Card* 2 If the USSR has the “#6 – The China Card” card, the USSR must give the card to the US (face down and unavailable for immediate play). If the US already has the “#6 – The China Card” card, the US receives 2 VP.
72 Sadat Expels Soviets* 1 Remove all USSR Influence from Egypt and add 1 US Influence to Egypt.
73 Shuttle Diplomacy 3 If this card’s Event is in effect, subtract (-1) a Battleground country from the USSR total and then discard this card during the next scoring of the Middle East or Asia (which ever comes first).
74 The Voice of America 2 Remove 4 USSR Influence from any countries NOT in Europe (removing no more than 2 Influence per country).
75 Liberation Theology 2 Add a total of 3 USSR Influence to any countries in Central America (adding no more than 2 Influence per country).
76 Ussuri River Skirmish* 3 If the USSR has the “#6 – The China Card” card, the USSR must give the card to the US (face up and available for play). If the US already has the “#6 – The China Card” card, add a total of 4 US Influence to any countries in Asia (adding no more than 2 Influence per country).
77 “Ask Not What Your Country…”* 3 The US may discard up to their entire hand of cards (including scoring cards) to the discard pile and draw replacements from the draw pile. The number of cards to be discarded must be decided before drawing any replacement cards from the draw pile.
78 Alliance for Progress* 3 The US receives 1 VP for each US controlled Battleground country in Central and South America.
79 Africa Scoring 0 Presence: 1; Domination: 4; Control: 6; +1 VP per controlled Battleground country in Region; MAY NOT BE HELD!
80 “One Small Step…” 2 If you are behind on the Space Race Track, the player uses this Event to move their marker 2 spaces forward on the Space Race Track. The player receives VP only from the final space moved into.
81 South America Scoring 0 Presence: 2; Domination: 5; Control: 6; +1 VP per controlled Battleground country in Region; MAY NOT BE HELD!

Late War

# Title Ops Text
82 Iranian Hostage Crisis* 3 Remove all US Influence and add 2 USSR Influence to Iran. This card’s Event requires the US to discard 2 cards, instead of 1 card, if the “#92 – Terrorism” Event is played.
83 The Iron Lady* 3 Add 1 USSR Influence to Argentina and remove all USSR Influence from the United Kingdom. The US receives 1 VP. This Event prevents the “#7 – Socialist Governments” card from being played as an Event.
84 Reagan Bombs Libya* 2 The US receives 1 VP for every 2 USSR Influence in Libya.
85 Star Wars* 2 If the US is ahead on the Space Race Track, the US player uses this Event to look through the discard pile, pick any 1 non-scoring card and play it immediately as an Event.
86 North Sea Oil* 3 The US may play 8 cards (in 8 action rounds) for this turn only. This Event prevents the “#61 – OPEC” card from being played as an Event.
87 The Reformer* 3 Add 4 USSR Influence to Europe (adding no more than 2 Influence per country). If the USSR is ahead of the US in VP, 6 Influence may be added to Europe instead. The USSR may no longer make Coup Attempts in Europe.
88 Marine Barracks Bombing* 2 Remove all US Influence in Lebanon and remove a total of 2 US Influence from any countries in the Middle East.
89 Soviets Shoot Down KAL-007* 4 Degrade the DEFCON level by 1 and the US receives 2 VP. The US may place influence or make Realignment rolls, using this card, if South Korea is US controlled.
90 Glasnost* 4 Improve the DEFCON level by 1 and the USSR receives 2 VP. The USSR may make Realignment rolls or add Influence, using this card, if the “#87 – The Reformer” Event has already been played.
91 Ortega Elected in Nicaragua* 2 Remove all US Influence from Nicaragua. The USSR may make a free Coup Attempt, using this card’s Operations value, in a country adjacent to Nicaragua.
92 Terrorism 2 The player’s opponent must randomly discard 1 card from their hand. If the “#82 – Iranian Hostage Crisis” Event has already been played, a US player (if applicable) must randomly discard 2 cards from their hand.
93 Iran-Contra Scandal* 2 All US Realignment rolls, for the remainder of this turn, receive -1 to their die roll.
94 Chernobyl* 3 The US must designate a single Region (Europe, Asia, etc.) that, for the remainder of the turn, the USSR cannot add Influence to using Operations points.
95 Latin American Debt Crisis 2 The US must immediately discard a card with an Operations value of 3 or more or the USSR may double the amount of USSR Influence in 2 countries in South America.
96 Tear Down this Wall* 3 Add 3 US Influence to East Germany. The US may make free Coup Attempts or Realignment rolls in Europe using the Operations value of this card. This Event prevents / cancels the effect(s) of the “#55 – Willy Brandt” Event.
97 “An Evil Empire”* 3 The US receives 1 VP. This Event prevents / cancels the effect(s) of the “#59 – Flower Power” Event.
98 Aldrich Ames Remix* 3 The US reveals their hand of cards, face-up, for the remainder of the turn and the USSR discards a card from the US hand.
99 Pershing II Deployed* 3 The USSR receives 1 VP. Remove 1 US Influence from any 3 countries in Western Europe.
100 Wargames* 4 If the DEFCON level is 2, the player may immediately end the game after giving their opponent 6 VP. How about a nice game of chess?
101 Solidarity* 2 Add 3 US Influence to Poland. This card requires prior play of the “#68 – John Paul II Elected Pope” Event in order to be played as an Event.
102 Iran-Iraq War* 2 Iran invades Iraq or vice versa (player’s choice). Roll a die and subtract (-1) from the die roll for every enemy controlled country adjacent to the target of the invasion (Iran or Iraq). On a modified die roll of 4-6, the player receives 2 VP and replaces all the opponent’s Influence in the target country with their Influence. The player adds 2 to its Military Operations Track.

Optional Cards

# Title Ops Text
104 The Cambridge Five 2 The US reveals all scoring cards in their hand of cards. The USSR player may add 1 USSR Influence to a single Region named on one of the revealed scoring cards. This card can not be played as an Event during the Late War.
105 Special Relationship 2 Add 1 US Influence to a single country adjacent to the U.K. if the U.K. is US-controlled but NATO is not in effect. Add 2 US Influence to a single country in Western Europe, and the US gains 2 VP, if the U.K. is US-controlled and NATO is in effect.
106 NORAD* 3 Add 1 US Influence to a single country containing US Influence, at the end of each Action Round, if Canada is US-controlled and the DEFCON level moved to 2 during that Action Round. This Event is canceled by the “#42 – Quagmire” Event.
107 Che 3 The USSR may perform a Coup Attempt, using this card’s Operations value, against a non-Battleground country in Central America, South America or Africa. The USSR may perform a second Coup Attempt, against a different non-Battleground country in Central America, South America or Africa, if the first Coup Attempt removed any US Influence from the target country.
108 Our Man in Tehran* 2 If the US controls at least one Middle East country, the US player uses this Event to draw the top 5 cards from the draw pile. The US may discard any or all of the drawn cards, after revealing the discarded card(s) to the USSR player, without triggering the Event(s). Any remaining drawn cards are returned to the draw pile and the draw pile is reshuffled.
109 Yuri and Samantha* 2 The USSR receives 1 VP for each US Coup Attempt performed during the remainder of the Turn.
110 AWACS Sale to Saudis* 3 Add 2 US Influence to Saudi Arabia. This Event prevents the “#56 – Muslim Revolution” card from being played as an Event.

23 Responses to Twilight Struggle Card List

  1. Anonymous says:
    January 28, 2012 at 10:06 am

    For the optional cards, which are early, mid, late?

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    January 28, 2012 at 10:11 am

    Found it out there. Early are: Cambridge, Special Relationship, and Norad, Mid are: Che, Our Man in Tehran, and Late are Yuri and AWACS.

    Reply
  3. Gorgia da Leontini says:
    June 18, 2012 at 5:17 am

    I’m a new player with only 5 matches under my belt. I’ve heard lot of people telling that ussr is in an advantage position…but in my games doesn’t seem so. I mean, i won with us and ussr either and i haven’t found ussr so in advantage…and reading about norad and Special Relationship…how can ussr limit the great potential this two cards have?

    Reply
    • theory says:
      June 18, 2012 at 8:42 am

      The balance difference is not significant — the game is quite balanced. On the other hand, you might be playing a rule incorrectly. NORAD is only useful usually once a turn, and Special Relationship is only good after NATO comes out, and it’s not enough for the US to consider playing NATO on its own.

      Reply
      • Gorgia da Leontini says:
        June 22, 2012 at 3:55 am

        I’ve tried to read again the rules, just to know if i was really playing a rule incorrectly, but it’s not, or at least don’t seems so 🙂
        Norad is usefull once a turn it’s real, but it means that could give you up to 10 total influence in a game (supposed i have norad and canada control since the first round)
        Never played NATO as an event when i use the capitalist, but ussr sooner or leter will (really europe with no coup and realignment is not a problem for soviets and the value of 4ops is really good) so let’s say that in 10 turn i’ll be so lucky to use 2 times special relationship mixing it with norad it will grant us 14 influence and 4vp…..it seems to me a lot…..enough at least to grant you no need of further spendings in europe, i would use each of this point in europe and use all my potential in the rest of the world….

        Reply
        • OneDollarBill says:
          June 22, 2012 at 7:46 am

          Sadly, your logic fails big time.

          First of all, it is very unlikely that NORAD would take effect on the first turn – US will most probably not have the possibility to waste 5 Ops (2 for securing Canada, 3 for not playing NORAD as Ops) on the first turn just to activate it. Also as USSR I would certainly avoid activating this event that early.

          Besides, even in the very unlikely situation where NORAD is activated on the first turn AND DEFCON is never reduced to 2 in the headline phase AND Quagmire is never played as an event, the 10 influence given 1 point per turn is hardly overpowered. Think about it: it’s not like you got to spam it in Europe and secure multiple countries at once. You can use it to break enemy control at crucial moments, but it’s nowhere near “enough at least to grant you no need of further spendings in europe”.

          Regarding Special Relationship: it certainly is a nasty event, especially if NATO is in effect, but I’ve rarely had trouble getting rid of it by either spacing it or holding it over to next turn. You can also defuse the event by spending the 2 Ops to break US control in UK (given that US hasn’t overcontrolled UK, of course.)
          Also a small note about playing NATO as USSR: personally I try to stall activating NATO if there’s still a good chance of winning a Brush War in Italy and/or I’m afraid of SR seriously screwing something up in Europe.

          After all, 14 Ops given in small amounts over the course of a WHOLE GAME is hardly game-breaking. Hell, your hand usually holds more Ops per turn than 14. (And no, this does NOT mean that the 14 Ops you could at most get from NORAD+SR would effectively give you an extra turn: remember, it’s given in bits and pieces over 10 turns.)

          Reply
          • Idris says:
            June 22, 2012 at 5:06 pm

            While I’d dispute the term wasted for the ops put into getting NORAD out (invested, or on the first turn, gambled, are my choices), he’s generally right. In my experience, NORAD can net anywhere from zero to twelve influence in a game depending on how it goes, but it generally averages out to 4-6. And, while Europe may be a good target, better options will be to flip a battleground in an area you expect to be scored, or are contesting, if you have the China Card, then India and the Koreas are viable flips so long as you have your foot in the door (In fact, once you get the China Card face down with NORAD out, 1 influence into N. Korea is a great AR7 play if you can afford it), and, if you manage to get the coup, then it means that you can use that extra influence to fortify your coup and gain control or over control if you fell just short. In short, it’s either a stopgap or a playmaker, and using it any other way is to waste the card’s potential.

            Reply
    • Userkaffe I says:
      March 5, 2013 at 5:32 am

      I really haven’t found many good ways to limit effectiveness of NORAD. Just hope for Quagmire and try to build your positions so that they aren’t especially vulnerable to it.
      Even though NORAD can be very frustrating to USSR player, it is not a game changer. (Unless combined with Truman Doctrine, one of my favourite combos in the game :D)
      Many times damage caused by Special Relationship or NORAD is not urgent, and you can leave it there until you have a suitable situation to repair it.

      Im not denying that both SR and NORAD are effective cards. As USSR, youll just have to repair and continue playing and try to get victories elsewhere.

      Reply
  4. Gorgia da Leontini says:
    June 22, 2012 at 9:17 am

    Thx for your explanation….now i can choose the bear with a more relaxed mood 🙂
    Thx a lot

    Reply
  5. Gorgia da Leontini says:
    June 28, 2012 at 5:20 am

    Another question…. i can’t understand (for the card North Sea Oil*) what does it mean “The US may play 8 cards (in 8 action rounds) for this turn only.” I mean…in late war doesn’t each palyer already play 8 cards?
    if i’ve understood the rules, in late war there are 9 action round including the opening one, so 8 cards in 8 action round is normal……is not right? what does i miss?
    thx for answers!

    Reply
    • Svante says:
      June 28, 2012 at 8:32 am

      The Headline Phase does not count as an action round for this or any outher matter. This means, with North Sea Oil you play 9 cards in all.

      Reply
    • theory says:
      June 28, 2012 at 8:38 am

      Turns 1-3, you are dealt up to 8 cards. You play one on the Headline, you play 6 Action Rounds, and you perhaps hold one card.

      Turns 4-10, you are dealt up to 9 cards. You play one on the Headline, you play 7 Action Rounds, and you perhaps hold one card.

      North Sea Oil means that instead of perhaps holding that card, you can play it.

      Reply

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  7. Peter says:
    September 22, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    As the US I have Blockade and want to play it for the point. Can I use a USSR ‘3’ card as my discard when the USSR plays the event?

    Reply
  8. Wojciech Musial says:
    December 29, 2015 at 5:17 am

    Guys 2 questions – what happens if enemy card is telling me to give up a card but I don’t have any left? Second – I have a card in my set, which was added extra in the box – a scoring card for Asia, where control gives you automatic victory, as in Europe. When do I use it?

    Reply
    • theory says:
      December 29, 2015 at 12:28 pm

      Then you don’t give up a card. No idea as to the latter.

      Reply
    • pietshaq says:
      February 2, 2016 at 8:16 am

      This is a 4th Polish Edition of the game I suppose. They incorrectly named the Europe Scoring Card “Asia Scoring”. You distinguish the cards by either number or the colour. You may also mail the publisher and they’ll send you the proper Europe Scoring card.

      Reply
  9. misomiso82 says:
    April 3, 2016 at 6:30 pm

    In a usual game of twilight struggle, when do the reshuffles and card additions occur?
    Is this about right :-
    Reshuffle halfway through turn 3
    Mid war added Begining of Turn 4
    Reshuffle turn 7(??)
    Late war added Beginning of turn 8
    Reshuffle turn 10(??)

    Reply

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