Europe Divided

We are proud to present New Cold War game of strategy and skill.
Caution: recent events present.

Europe Divided is a game of an expansionist Europe, a resurgent Russia, and a new Cold War, taking place over two periods: 1992-2008 (European Expansion) and 2008-2019 (Russian Resurgence). You control of one of the two powers: Europe (controlling both NATO and the European Union) or Russia, managing manage conflicts of political and military influence.

Europe Divided is a tense and quick game of political struggle during the new-Cold War.

Two players face tough choices on how to optimize available resources and actions in order to dominate the regions and win headline events. A game of strategy and skill. No luck is involved and no dice are rolled.

Europe Divided is a game of an expansionist Europe, a resurgent Russia, and a new Cold War. In the game, you control of one of the two powers: Europe (controlling both NATO and the European Union) or Russia. You manage conflicts of political and military influence, vying for control over Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Caucasus. Europe is powerful and rich, but bureaucratic and slow to react. Russia lacks Europe's resources, but can respond rapidly. In this alternative reality the future of Europe is in your hands.

"The threat of world war is no more."
— Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev

The end of the Cold War ushered in a new age of European expansion. Central and Eastern Europe had emerged from dictatorships and wanted to consolidate their democracies. They sought European integration to ensure they would not fall back into the Russian sphere of influence. The EU and NATO offered a guarantee of this, and the EU was also seen as vital to ensuring the economic success of those countries. Russia — a shell of its former power as the Soviet Union — could do nothing to slow the European expansion.

"A strong EU, a strong NATO, and a true strategic partnership between them is profoundly in our interest."
— US Senator John McCain

But then things changed. Oil prices increased, bolstering Russia's economy. Putin came to power, and despite political discontent in Russia, his popularity remained strong. In 2008, war broke out between Russia and the NATO-aspirant, former Soviet country of Georgia. Russia's resurgence had begun, exemplified by the 2014 annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine.

"If we do not win the New Cold War on terms of our choosing, we will fight at a time and place chosen by our adversary, and the odds will be tilted against us."
— Edward Lucas former Moscow Bureau Chief for The Economist

It also need to be remembered, that, as Lord Palmerston put it, "In international relations, there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests." and those who once were friends may soon not be so anymore for the Wheel of political Fortune spins constantly.

One also need to remember, that the point of view in Moscow might be and often is different to that in the West and such is the judgement of the past events. The designers and developers of this game tried to do their best, to make sure, no single point of view is prevalent and the international politics are looked upon from conservative and neutral perspective. The flavour text on the cards are shown from the perspective of the respective side of the conflict and do not represent our point of view, only serving deeper immersion.

Europe Divided is a game of an expansionist Europe, a resurgent Russia, and a new Cold War. In the game, you control of one of the two powers: Europe (controlling both NATO and the European Union) or Russia. You manage conflicts of political and military influence, vying for control over Central and Eastern Europe as well as the Caucasus. Europe is powerful and rich, but bureaucratic and slow to react. Russia lacks Europe's resources, but can respond rapidly.

Europe Divided takes place over two periods: 1992-2008 (European Expansion) and 2008-2019 (Russian Resurgence). Players score victory points by having dominant influence in contested countries in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Caucasus. They can also score victory points by bringing key historical events to fruition. The player with the most victory points at the end of the two periods wins.

Europe Divided is rich with history and includes today's potential flashpoints, but it features a quick-playing card-driven core mechanism. Players use cards associated with countries they control to establish political and military influence, gain money, and build and deploy their military presence. An elegant deck-manipulation mechanism weakens players' decks as they increase their influence, creating a tension point between seeking to expand and overreaching. Players also compete over key political events throughout the game. Will the Velvet Revolution result in the split of the Czech Republic and Slovakia? How will the Bosnian War end? The players will decide the fate of history throughout this period of Europe Divided.

Area control, deck building, political war-euro game.

Europe Divided. Three powers. Two players. One Europe.

Designers: David Thompson, Chris Marling

2 Players
60–75 Min
Age: 12+

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