Loading interactive app…

Twilight Struggle Setup Guide

2 players180 minby Ananda Gupta, Jason MatthewsGMT Games
Twilight Struggle box art

Setup Steps

  1. Turn & DEFCON: Place the Turn marker on Turn 1 and the DEFCON marker at 5.
  2. VP Track: Place VP marker at 0 on the VP track.
  3. Mil Ops: Place both Military Operations markers at 0.
  4. USSR Starting Influence: Place USSR influence: 1 in Syria, 1 in Iraq, 3 in North Korea, 3 in East Germany, 1 in Finland.
  5. US Starting Influence: Place US influence: 2 in Canada, 1 in Iran, 1 in Israel, 1 in Japan, 4 in Australia, 1 in Philippines, 5 in UK, 1 in Panama, 1 in South Africa, 1 in South Korea.
  6. USSR Bonus Influence: USSR receives additional 6 influence to place in Eastern Europe (East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Finland).
  7. US Bonus Influence: US receives additional 7 influence to place in Western Europe (UK, France, West Germany, Spain/Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Benelux, Norway, Denmark, Canada).
  8. Deal Cards: Shuffle only the Early War cards. Deal 8 cards to each player.
  9. China Card: Give the China Card to the USSR player, face up.
  10. First Headline: The headline phase begins — both players simultaneously select and reveal one card to play for its event.
Gamers Paper
Your board game rules companion for quick reference at the table so you can focus on playing.
🎲
Setup Guides
Step-by-step setup for any player count
🃏
Card References
Browse cards, abilities, and effects
🏆
Scoring Tools
Track scores and victory conditions
Loading Gamers Paper
Returning to your game...