The Cold War
1945 – 1991
The largest Earth board in the game at 51 territories across 13 regions, and the one where position beats conquest — the Non-Aligned Movement exists to make the middle of the map worth contesting rather than taking. Expect long games decided on the periphery.
The era at a glance
- Period
- 1945 – 1991
- Factions
- 6
- Board
- Cold War (1947–1991) — 51 territories
- Regions
- 13
- Players
- 2–8, any mix of people and AI
- Price
- Free. No download, no account required.
Who you can play
Each faction has its own passive strengths and one ability that changes how it fights. They are asymmetric on purpose — the same board plays differently depending on who you take.
- United States
-
Global superpower — +1 tech point per ally-adjacent territory; influence ability range extended to 2 hops.
Carrier groups, development aid, and alliance architecture let Washington project power without occupying every frontline directly.
Ability: Marshall Plan: once per turn during draft, place 1 free unit on any allied or newly captured territory.
- Soviet Union
-
Command economy and a hardened perimeter — +1 reinforcement per turn.
The Soviet bloc hardens its perimeter through ideology, armor, and a security state built to absorb existential pressure.
- People's Republic of China
-
Vast army — +2 reinforcements per turn; guerrilla tactics grant +1 defense die in Asia.
Revolutionary legitimacy and mass mobilization give China resilience, especially when the fight becomes one of exhaustion.
Ability: People's War: once per game, double your reinforcements for one turn.
- United Kingdom
-
Nuclear deterrent — if attacked in your capital territory, attacker loses 1 extra unit.
Postwar Britain holds disproportionate leverage through diplomacy, intelligence, and the menace of strategic reprisal.
Ability: Nuclear Deterrence: once per game, cancel an attack against your capital territory entirely.
- Non-Aligned Movement
-
Guerrilla movements challenge both superpowers — territories you own cannot be influenced (immune to influence_spread).
Newly independent states and insurgent movements refuse to become pawns, thriving in the gaps between the blocs.
Ability: Guerrilla Resistance: once per turn, place 2 free units on any border territory that was attacked last turn.
- NATO Alliance
-
Collective defense pact — if any NATO territory is attacked, adjacent NATO territories each add +1 defense die.
Interoperability, shared planning, and mutual guarantees make NATO strongest when it fights as a network instead of a nation.
Ability: Article 5: once per turn, an attack on any of your territories triggers +1 automatic defender loss on the attacker.
Regions and what they pay
- NATO Europe
- 0 territories · +6 per turn
- Warsaw Pact
- 0 territories · +7 per turn
- North America
- 0 territories · +3 per turn
- Latin America
- 0 territories · +4 per turn
- Middle East
- 0 territories · +5 per turn
- Africa
- 0 territories · +5 per turn
- South & SE Asia
- 0 territories · +5 per turn
- East Asia
- 0 territories · +5 per turn
- Polar Frontier
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
- Antarctic Claims
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
- Oceanic Frontier
- 0 territories · +3 per turn
- Non-Aligned Pacific
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
- Space Frontier
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
Play this era
Start a game and pick the era in the lobby, or let a full campaign carry you through the whole arc — a single game can begin with legions and end in orbit. Guest play needs no account.