| Balance of Power | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Chris Crawford |
| Publisher(s) | Mindscape |
| Platform(s) | Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Macintosh, MSX, PC-88, PC-98, Windows 1.0 |
| Release | September 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Two-player |
Balance of Power is a strategy video game of geopolitics during the Cold War, created by Chris Crawford and published in 1985 on the Macintosh by Mindscape, followed by ports to a variety of platforms over the next two years.
In the game, the player takes the role of the President of the United States or General Secretary of the Soviet Union. The goal is to improve the player's country's standing in the world relative to the other superpower. During each yearly turn, random events occur that may have effects on the player's international prestige. The player can choose to respond to these events in various ways, which may prompt a response from the other superpower. This creates brinkmanship situations between the two nations, potentially escalating to a nuclear war, which ends the game.
Crawford was already well-known, especially for Eastern Front (1941). His 1984 announcement that he was moving to the Macintosh platform to work on a new concept generated considerable interest. It was widely reviewed after its release, including an extremely positive review in The New York Times Magazine. It was praised for its inventive non-action gameplay that was nevertheless exciting and distinct. It has been named by Computer Gaming World as one of the most innovative computer games of all time.
Balance of Power was successful on the Mac, and combined with ports it ultimately sold over a quarter million units.