Image Courtesy of henk.rolleman
All of my 'Detailed Reviews' aim to offer an in depth look at a game including the theme, mechanics, game play and overall 'feel'. Where possible I will seek to include visual images to give a visual impression as well. Any feedback is always welcome.
Summary
Game Type - Card Game
Play Time : 30-50 minutes
Number of Players: 2
Mechanics - Bluffing, Card Combo, Blackjack
Difficulty - Pick-up & Play (Learn in under 15 minutes)
Components - Excellent
Release - 2007
Designers - <PERSON>& <PERSON>
Cold War: CIA vs. KGB allows 2 players to use a series of Agents in order to influence Global Hotspots and Major Events during the Cold War. This is the second recent title to feature the Cold War theme and one glance at the box size would suggest that this is another light filler game. Whilst I agree that it is a filler, it has a little more meat than one would expect. The time frame certainly goes beyond that of a classic filler and the card combinations are more interesting than they first seem as well. Welcome to the world of Double Agents and Global Meddling.
Cold War uses many terms to describe elements of the game, which I have had to use in writing this review. In order to help you better understand the game and make this review coherent I have included a Glossary of Terms at the bottom of the review. Any words that feature a capital letter in mid sentence should be referenced in the Glossary.
Theme
If you are a Cold War fanatic I suggest you look elsewhere. The theme is really the hook to get the game out of the store and onto your bookcase. Perhaps I am a little harsh as the cards are all thematically titled and the use of agents certainly lends itself to the bluff and double bluff world of the classic spy genre. The objective cards also outline the major influences that helped win those conflicts (these act as tie breakers but more on that later). I pretty much agree with the research that went into these decisions but overall the game uses the theme as support rather than allowing you to live the theme.
Components
I have to give Cold War a big thumbs up here. I can't tell you how many games I own of this box size and weight that feature adequate to poor quality components. I'm really pleased to see that FFG has maintained the high standards seen in their 'coffin' sized productions for Cold War.
The game consists of 47 regular sized cards. These consist of 24 Group Cards, 21 Objective Cards and 2 Score Cards. 299
All of the cards offer a matte finish to help the game stand up to many plays and the artwork is excellent as well. Even the card backs offer interesting. The Objective Cards feature an image of a war room that you could imagine in the HQ of the Kremlin or Pentagon. The image depicts a world map with a solitary figure sitting in front with their back turned to the viewer. It might be a small touch but it adds to the theme and I appreciate the effort taken by the illustrator(s).
Image Courtesy of willk_1230
The back of the Group Cards feature a large assembly of people around a circular table. They are meant to represent the many factions or groups that have influence in world affairs.
The Score Cards are double sided and depict all 5 point incremental values from 5 to 100. These cards are functional but effective.
Image Courtesy of willk_1230
The game also features 12 rectangular Agent Cards roughly one and a half times larger than a regular playing card. Both sides have the same 6 Agents but the photo image is different for each. These cards are graphically designed to look like passports and feature nice touches like travel stamps, clearance levels, signatures and 'passport style' borders and security features. The backs of these cards even feature a print meant to replicate leather used for passports. All very nice.
Image Courtesy of willk_1230
From a design perspective all cards are very crisp and clean. A range of symbols and numbers are used to convey all the information the players need and it is laid out in such a way that clutter is not an issue. After a few plays the rule book can pretty much be dispensed with as the symbols and numbers on the cards dictate the flow of the game. A game like Cold War can easily flop if this aspect wasn't done well, so a big for the design team here.
Two glass beads are provided to record each teams score on the score track cards and again they are coloured red and blue to denote the sides. Then 3 poker sized chips are provided to record the result of each conflict. There is one chip for the CIA and KGB and they depict what I assume are the coat of arms for both organisations. The third chip is green and is used to represent Global Balance. 872