We all love Twilight Struggle….and if you say you don’t, you really do but just want to be different or are a contrarian! The game is phenomenal and has done very well for GMT Games with 8 Printings as well as the Turn Zero Expansion and now a series of smaller geographically focused spin off games starting with Twilight Struggle: Red Sea – Conflict in the Horn of Africa. Twilight Struggle: Red Sea deals with just two regions located in the Horn of Africa including Africa and the Middle East. The game uses the familiar Twilight Struggle formula of Cards with both Events and Operations Points that can be used by players to perform Coups, do Realignment Rolls or place Influence in an effort to gain control of the most Countries in the Regions to score Victory Points and win the game. The game is fast, furious and only lasts 2 hands of cards (unless you choose to play the special 3 Turn variant) so there isn’t a lot of time to mess around and players must be focused on what they are trying to accomplish. The best thing about the game is that it plays in 45 minutes as compared to 3-4 hours for Twilight Struggle.

In Action Point 1, we took a look at the board and discussed the two Regions depicted, examined the various Tracks, including the Action Round Track, DEFCON Status Track, Turn Record Track, Victory Point Track, Required Military Operations Track and Space Race Track and also briefly discussed the new Strategic Sea Lanes Box and the addition of some handy reminders for how various Operations work on the board. In Action Point 2, we examined what is new in this smaller focused addition to the series including the Strategic Sea Lanes Box, Flashpoint Countries and the updated Space Race Track along with a few other new tricks. In Action Point 3, we took a look at examples of new cards for both the Soviets and the Americans as well as Neutral Cards. In Action Point 4, we reviewed the Scoring Cards and discussed how they work. In this Action Point, which is the conclusion to the series, I will provide my thoughts on this new format and implementation of a fan favorite system.

Scale

I was a bit nervous about the use of the Twilight Struggle System in a smaller geographically specific locale, especially in the Horn of Africa. One of the things that makes Twilight Struggle so grand is that it is an all engrossing global conflict that focuses not on one specific area of the Cold War but covers it all and assigns a tangible numerical value via the different scoring values assigned to the regions. In TS, Africa is a less important area than say Europe, Asia or even the Middle East based on the scoring for the Region. But shrinking the game down to a smaller geographic area worked just as well as in the big game. It provided the opportunity for the designer to include historically significant events to the game that directly affected the Horn of Africa/Middle East but that fit well into the larger global Cold War setting and conflict.

Some examples of this were the Neutral Card Famine, which provided the player with the choice of placing Famine Markers into a few adjacent countries. The Horn of Africa has to deal with severe drought and high temperatures that often lead to crop failures and the loss of livestock. This results in regular famines that accost the land and the Cold War powers tried to use this to their advantage by trying to convince the local populace that they could do better at managing those negative effects than their opponents. I really enjoy these type of thematic connections in the cards found in Twilight Struggle: Red Sea. They reinforce the propaganda and tactics of each super power during this titanic world ideological struggle.

As you can see from the card pictured above, Famine allows the player using the card as an Event to place Famine Markers in 2 adjacent countries. Once these markers are placed, the player can then attempt a free Coup in one of the countries where the Famine Markers were placed with a +1 DRM to the attempt. If the attempt is successful, they will have to remove the Famine Marker but its work will have been accomplished in the region. This type of card can be added to each of the future regionally specific entries into the series based on their own environmental challenges and opportunities.

Another great example of the scale of the conflict being localized is the Neutral Card Water Wars, which refers to the age old struggle between Egypt and Ethiopia for control of the Nile River as a primary water source. Over the years, dams have been built which lead to the restriction of water to Ethiopia and the argument continues. The card allows the player playing it to remove all of their Influence in either Egypt or Ethiopia depending on which has the highest value. This can be a very important card if one player has built a lead in Egypt. Egypt is a Battleground Country and is very important to scoring.

The power to control the flow of water down the Nile is really well represented here in this event as removing Influence is a very strong action. The ability to take Control away or grant it has been a common theme in the cards in the game and are tailored to the situation found here in the Horn of Africa.

New Tricks

One of the things that I was immediately impressed by when we first played Twilight Struggle: Red Sea – Conflict in the Horn of Africa, was the fact that it was not just a reskin of Twilight Struggle. This game was a smaller, faster playing, more tightly focused regional look at the Cold War and the struggle for control of Africa and the Middle East as I have espoused above. But it was more than that as it really had integrated some new mechanics and tricks into the design that have created a new focus and new tension for the players. These new elements don’t make large sweeping changes to the core of the game, but do add some interesting new twists to give a new and fresh experience without taking away the essence and feel of the original classic Twilight Struggle.

Strategic Sea Lanes

Strategic Sea Lanes are a very interesting new addition to the game that changes how scoring is completed without adding a lot of new rules and overhead. It is just an additional way to create some really palpable tension and other battlegrounds for players to have to worry about and focus their strategies upon. The Strategic Sea Lanes Box is a space found on the board but it does not represent a specific physical location. It is not a Country and is not connected to any other Countries. It has special rules for Influence Placement and Scoring.

So how does it work? Strategic Sea Lanes are scored when a Scoring Card is played and will have a major impact on the resolution. In order for the Strategic Sea Lanes to be scored, one of the players must Control the space. In order to Control the space, the player must simply have Influence equal to the Strategic Sea Lanes Stability Number, which is 4, while also having at least 4 more Influence in the space than their opponent. Basically, the Strategic Sea Lanes space works the same as every other Country on the board. In the picture below, the Soviets have a total of 2 Influence in the Strategic Sea Lanes space as compared to the United States’ 2 Influence. The Soviets DO NOT Control the space as they don’t have at least 4 Influence to equal the space’s Stability Number nor do they have at least 4 more Influence than the United States. In this example, in order to Control the space, the Soviets would need a total of at least 5 Influence there.

When a player Controls the Strategic Sea Lanes space, the effect is that this will double the Victory Points they will receive when resolving a Scoring Card. Also, the player who has more Influence than their opponent in the Strategic Sea Lanes space when a Scoring Card is played, but does not have sufficient Influence to Control the space, will receive 1 VP. And that is it…a pretty significant benefit that will lead both players to fight fiercely over Control of this space! I really like this inclusion as it simply adds something else that players have to think about and monitor as you cannot allow your opponent to get ahead in this space.

Flashpoint Countries

Another addition to the game was the concept of Flashpoint Countries. 2 of the Countries in Africa are classified as Flashpoint Countries and you will notice a new symbol appears in both of their boxes. This red lightning bolt icon indicates that these 2 Countries are Flashpoints, and are distinct from Battlegrounds. The Ogaden War is a central focus of Twilight Struggle: Red Sea and both Ethiopia and Somalia work differently than in Twilight Struggle.

The real distinction here for Flashpoint Countries is that Coup Attempts against either Ethiopia or Somalia are conducted slightly differently. When a Coup Attempt is made against a Flashpoint Country, a card is turned over from the top of the draw deck. If it is a Scoring Card, a 1 Op Value or a 2 Op Value Card, the players will then decrease the DEFCON Status by 1 level and then this drawn card is discarded. This action could potentially trigger game-ending global thermonuclear war. Additionally, if the drawn card happens to be a Scoring Card, it will be resolved immediately before the Coup is resolved. If the drawn card is a 3 Op Value or 4 Op Value Card, it will not be discarded but will be placed on the bottom of the draw deck but otherwise will have no effect. In the picture below, the United States player initiates a Coup Attempt against Ethiopia and draws a 1 Op Value Card, which will be discarded but will lower the DEFCON Status Track by 1.

Space Race Track

In most Card Driven Games, particularly where your opponent’s events on cards go off when you play them for the Operations Points, there is a means to get rid of at least 1 of these cards from your hand per turn without the event going off by throwing them away via some mechanism. In Twilight Struggle, that vehicle was the Space Race Track. And in Twilight Struggle: Red Sea, the Space Race Track is there but has a slightly different result. The Space Race Track doesn’t change significantly but there were a few differences that made it feel fresh and new. Players have to be aware of this important track as it is a means of avoiding pain from powerful opponent Event Cards and can also be the source of Victory Points in addition to unique abilities.

The Space Race Track has a marker for each superpower and a card can discarded with a minimum amount of Operations Points to attempt to move to the next Box on the track. To do so, the player will discard a card with an Operations Value equal to or greater than the number shown on the Box (Box 1 is a 2 Ops Card, Box 2 is a 2 Ops Card and Box 3 is a 3 Ops Card) into which they want to advance. The player then rolls one of the custom 6-sided die and compares their result to the target number. If the number falls within the range listed below the target Box, the player can move their marker to the new Box. This action can only be taken once per Turn.

Here is where the Space Race Track for Twilight Struggle: Red Sea has some difference. There are only 3 spaces, and players will only use the first 2 Boxes on the track (Box 1 and Box 2) when playing the basic 2-turn game. Box 3 can be reached when playing the 3-turn game or with use of a specific card the Apollo-Soyuz Card.

Advancing on the Space Race Track can result in the player scoring Victory Points, gaining a temporary Special Ability, or even both. Box 2 on the Space Race Track is marked with two numbers separated by a slash (2/1). This should be familiar to players of Twilight Struggle as it means that the first player to reach Box 2 gains the left VP value with the 2nd player achieving that Box receives the lesser right hand VP value. It is important to remember that granted Special Abilities will only function until the other player reaches the Box that granted the Special Ability.

Box 1 on the Space Race Track (1st mission to leave inner Solar System) will grant the player that reaches it first the Special Ability that allows them to “Remove 1 Influence from 1 Country after the Headline Phase”. This can be really powerful but remember that this will only be useable in the next turn during the Headline Phase when this ability is achieved in a 2-turn game and possibly again in Turn 3 in a 3-player game. This ability, while nice, will not make a huge impact on the game.

When reaching Box 2 (1st photos from the surface of another planet), the players will gain Victory Points. As stated earlier, the first player reaching the Box will achieve 2 VP and the second player will receive 1 VP. This Box 2 doesn’t grant any Special Ability but the VP is really nice, and if your opponent doesn’t try to keep up, will be a huge 2 VP swing. This is one small area of concern that I have with the game is that 5 VP from the 3 Boxes can make a huge difference and probably end in a victory for the player that achieves them. More plays will reveal whether that is the case.

Upon reaching Box 3 (1st Reusable manned orbital spacecraft) the player will draw an additional card and also score 3 VPs.

I really liked the changes here to the Space Race Track, which were implemented due to the shortness of the game having just 3 possible Turns as compared to 10 Turns in Twilight Struggle. I am reserving my judgment here on whether the VP are too powerful until further plays but my sneaking suspicion is that it is overpowered and can potentially seal up a victory for the player gaining the 5 VP’s. But, I need to remember that focusing on the Space Race Track will take attention and Ops Points away from placing Influence gaining Control of Countries, which can also garner lots of VP for the player who isn’t focused on the Space Race Track.

Romanian Autonomy Card in Place of the China Card

If you have played Twilight Struggle, you know about the China Card. The China Card is a unique 4 Ops Value Card that can be held by the player in addition to their hand limit thereby giving them an extra card to use. But the card also has a special ability where if they player uses the card for 4 Ops to place Influence only in Asia, it will grant the player +1 Ops Value to use in placing one additional Influence. The China Card also grant’s the player who holds the card at the end of Turn 10 a +1 VP bonus.

In Twilight Struggle: Red Sea, the China Card has been replaced by the Romanian Autonomy Card. This card is not as powerful as the China Card but definitely creates some new opportunities and challenges for the player playing the card. The Romanian Autonomy Card can effect their Ops Value from cards by +1 during the Turn that they play it if they are behind on the Victory Point Track and also grants +1 VP to the player holding the card during Final Scoring. I think this is really interesting concept and I think was included as a sort of catchup mechanic due to the short nature of the game. I look forward to seeing how its addition changes things and whether it is overpowered or just right. Once again, a small and subtle change to the game to create a new and interesting experience for the avid fan of Twilight Struggle or players who are new to the system.

Final Thoughts

After a few plays of the new Twilight Struggle: Red Sea, both Alexander and I were really impressed with the overall depth of the game, the different feeling of the game but also the fact that it still feels like Twilight Struggle. I didn’t want to see this become a totally new game but just to have some new feeling to add to the legacy of the system. And I think that Jason has done a fantastic job here of doing exactly that. I also love the fast and furious nature of it as with just 2 Turns (3 if you play the extended games), you have to make progress quickly and also slow your opponent or someone can run away with it. I absolutely love the feeling of TS: Red Sea and cannot wait to play more but also to experience what is in store for us in the future expansions to the system such as the newly announced Twilight Struggle: South Asian Monsoon.

-Grant