Review
Cold War: CIA vs KGB
Cold War: CIA vs KGB is not the last word in games about its subject. But for a child trying to understand a war with no famous battlefield attached, it is a gentle and useful place to begin.
- Published
- 2007
- Designer
- Sébastien Gigaudaut, David Rakoto
- Publisher
- Edge Entertainment, Fantasy Flight Games, Galakta
- Players
- 2
- Playing time
- 60 min
My son is fascinated by every war going, yet the Cold War posed a fair question: where were the big battles? Cold War: CIA vs KGB managed something my rather dry explanations could not. It gave the subject a shape he could hold onto.
At heart, it turns the Cold War into a contest between the CIA and the KGB. It does not invent battles that never happened; it puts the two sides in opposition and lets that tension provide a young player with a first feel for the period.
Cold War: CIA vs KGB managed something my rather dry explanations could not.
WhiteColarGamer
The players take the two sides in turn, and the whole flow stays within a manageable level of difficulty and length. The interaction is the contest itself: you are not being handed a history lesson, but trying to get the better of the person opposite you, which keeps things moving without burying a new player in rules.
There are certainly stronger games for this level of difficulty, player demand and playing time. If I remember rightly, there is also a Star Wars retheme for anyone uncomfortable with the original subject or its assassination. Still, as a first step towards more demanding games—before the day of Squad Leader arrives—it offers a modest, honest pleasure and does its work quietly well.
Still, as a first step towards more demanding games—before the day of Squad Leader arrives—it offers a modest, honest pleasure and does its work quietly well.
WhiteColarGamer
Source: BoardGameGeek
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