Review: Jason Lives- Twilight Struggle Red Sea

By Mitch Reed

Twilight Struggle, which came out in 2005 is one of the most iconic and popular war games in our community, however, it is not a game that I would expose new gamers to or someone who wants to play a quick game.

This has now changed with Jason Matthews’ newest game, Twilight Struggle Red Sea: The Conflict in the Horn of Africa (TWRS), which is a great intro game to our hobby but also a game that you can finish in less than 40 minutes.I am a huge fan of the original game, and I am not ashamed to say I stole some of the game’s mechanics for my day job. Twilight Struggle (TS) excels at showing all the instruments of national power and when wrapped in the 45-year history of the Cold War, the game is a must for any serious gamer.

I have heard many folks (including Jason once) say Twilight Struggle is not really a “wargame” and I need to clarify that it is one of the most complete strategic-level war games I have ever played and anyone who thinks otherwise has not really spent time playing the game or many strategic level games.
I have recommended TS to many people who want to get into wargaming and while they love the game, it does have a learning curve and it takes a while to play through the entire game. The digital version helped many learn and love the game but the community needed a true love board wargame that captures the best of TS.
TWRS game covers the area that makes up the southern Middle East and the nations around the Horn of Africa from about 1974 until the end of the Cold War in 1989. For those who do not know the history of the region or much about the Ogaden War; the area was another proxy war between the East and West whose impact still shapes the region today.

Much like the original TWRS is a CDG or card-driven game. Each player draws a hand and can play the events on the cards or take other actions such as initiate a coup or add influence in a particular country. The cards in themselves offer a mini history lesson of the region and I ended up learning a few things while playing the game.

Many gamers recently pushed back on CDG when I reviewed The British Way. Most of them have never played a CDG and want to “do what they want to do when they want to do it.” Sadly, real life does not work that way. A well-done CDG is like chess, where other games can be more like checkers. I feel that CDG games enhance player agency and decision making but in the end, play what you love.

Once I got the game from GMT (no love from JM), I played the solo version (yes, it has a solo version ready to go) and ended up playing a bunch of games that did not last over 40 minutes. Many solo versions of two-player games have the feel that the solo version was an afterthought, this is not the case in TSRS.

I found each game a challenge and a lot of fun and the fact that they finished so quickly is a huge plus. I also have to admit I played some of my games in one sitting; after I was done with one game, I just had to give it another shot. You guessed it, I lost. It also should indicate that the TWRS is not mindless dice porn, it gives players a real challenge.

Below is the designer, and yes he is giving off some Bond villain vibes.

As with other GMT games, the production is top-notch with quality cards and player aids and a nice, mounted map board. The fact that rules give instructions on how to hold TWRS tournaments and how to integrate the game with the mothership.

TWRS is part of the GMT “lunchtime” game series where you can play a full game in less than an hour. I like this effort; I feel our community can only grow if we can develop more gateway games to draw folks in.

I think this game really breaks some new ground and it is more than a candidate for the “best-adapted screenplay” Oscar, it somehow has a different feel than TS which I feel is due to the quick play aspect of the game. You have no time for bad decisions and the events on the cards give the player a sense of urgency that I really like, which adds to the gameplay experience.

While I really wanted to use this review to bust Jason’s chops, he really (once again) hits it out of the park and has designed a game that should be a must in any serious gamers’ collection.

Above, four guys you should never invite to your house, L to R, some bum, the renowned K-Dizzle, Mr. Matthews, and the “Zenobia Champ”