| The Cold War, 1945–1989 | |
|---|---|
 First edition box art | |
| Designers | Ananda Gupta Jason Matthews |
| Illustrators | Viktor Csete Rodger B. MacGowan Guillaume Ries Mark Simonitch |
| Publishers | GMT Games |
| Publication | 2005 |
| Genres | Wargame |
| Players | 2 |
| Setup time | 5–15 minutes |
| Playing time | 3 hours |
| Chance | Medium (dice, cards) |
| Skills | Strategy Card management |
Twilight Struggle: The Cold War, 1945–1989 is a board game for two players, published by GMT Games in 2005. Players are the United States and Soviet Union contesting each other's influence on the world map by using cards that correspond to historical events. The first game designed by Ananda Gupta and Jason Matthews, they intended it to be a quick-playing alternative to more complex card-driven wargames.
It achieved critical acclaim for its well-integrated theme, accessibility and introduction of Eurogame elements. After being voted the number one game on BoardGameGeek from December 2010 to January 2016 (eventually dethroned by Pandemic Legacy), it has been called "the best board game on the planet".[1] Twilight Struggle is played competitively and was unofficially adapted for play-by-email and live online play. GMT released a Deluxe Edition in 2009, as well as a Collector's Edition as part of the crowdfunding campaign for the game's official adaptation into a video game; this Digital Edition was released in 2016. With over 100,000 copies sold, the game is GMT's all-time best-seller.[2]