Category Archives: General Strategy

General Strategy: Realignments

Posted on January 11, 2013 by theory

Realignments are one of the most puzzling aspects of the game to a beginner.  They are rarely the most effective use of your Ops, frustratingly DEFCON-restricted, and can never gain you influence in a target country. In general, realignments only … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | Tagged | 23 Comments

General Strategy: The AR7 Play

Posted on March 15, 2012 by theory

Overview The “AR7 Play” refers to any US play on the final Action Round of the turn (AR6 on Turns 1-3, AR7 thereafter) intended to overload the USSR’s first Action Round in the next turn.  The AR7 play is the … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | 11 Comments

General Strategy: The Space Race

Posted on March 12, 2012 by theory

The number one mistake beginning players make in Twilight Struggle is to send too many cards off to space.  Among strong players, you rarely see either player make it to Stage 4 (Man in Earth Orbit in the Deluxe Edition, … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | 22 Comments

General Strategy: Reshuffles

Posted on December 15, 2011 by theory

In a typical game of Twilight Struggle, the draw deck will reshuffle while dealing out the cards for Turns 3 and 7.  Occasionally, the deck will reshuffle immediately before Turn 10 as well. What this means is that cards can … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | 14 Comments

General Strategy: Events vs Operations

Posted on December 14, 2011 by theory

The overarching paradigm of Twilight Struggle is that events create opportunities, and Operations are how you take advantage of those opportunities.  Accordingly, you should treat events not as your primary source of influence, but rather as gamechangers that break open … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | 7 Comments

General Strategy: DEFCON

Posted on December 12, 2011 by theory

One of the most important rules in Twilight Struggle is that you lose the game if DEFCON drops to 1 on your turn.  It doesn’t matter who “caused” it: if it happened on your watch, you’re responsible for humanity’s destruction. … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | Tagged | 24 Comments

General Strategy: Turn 1

Posted on December 12, 2011 by theory

The first turn of Twilight Struggle is arguably the most important one.  An empty board means that the board is rife with both opportunity and pitfalls.  Even the smallest mistake early on can have dramatic ramifications: misplaying into Asia on … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | 31 Comments

General Strategy: Opening Setup

Posted on December 12, 2011 by theory

Each side begins the game with the ability to place Influence in Europe.  (Note that this is Influence, not Operations points for influence.)  The USSR can place up to 6 in Eastern Europe, while the US can place 7 in … Continue reading →

Posted in General Strategy | 73 Comments