Rochester Gamers Community

Cold War: CIA vs. KGB is a card game for two players and produced by Fantasy Flight in late 2007. The theme of the game puts the players in a struggle for influence during the Cold War. Players are given an objective and through clever play of cards, the players battle back and forth to take the objective to gain victory points. Players can also tilt the scales in their favor by way of "Agent X" cards as well as Event cards obtained in previous battles. The game ends when one player accumulates 100 victory points.

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Gameplay
The core mechanic in this game is Blackjack. Players first turn over an Objective card which determines the value that the Group cards need to reach or come closest without going over. The objective card also shows how many cards can be in play and how many victory points will be awarded for winning the objective. After the Objective card is displayed, the players determine which "Agent X" card to have in play (Agent X cards can give a player a special action or even change the outcome of the turn.) Finally, the two players alternate doing one of three actions: (1) draw group cards, (2) activate (use special power) group card or (3) pass. When both players pass, the struggle is resolved and the player who came closest to the number on the objective card without going over puts their Domination token on the objective card. A player going over the value displayed on the Objective card causes Civil Disorder and their Agent X is removed from play (except for the Deputy Director). Agent X cards are revealed and effects are resolved. A player cannot use the same Agent X card (except for the Deputy Director, which gives no benefit or loss) twice in a row, so the Agent X card used last round is considered "on leave". The winner then claims the objective card and records the points. If neither player has reached 100 points, a new round begins.

Components
Other than the choice of black borders for the Group and Objective/Event cards (which show more wear over white borders), the quality of components is very good. The linen-finished card stock should hold up over several plays. The heavy plastic Domination and Balance tokens are impressive as I would have expected cardboard pieces. Red and blue glass beads are included to track score on the score cards. The Agent X cards are over-sized, but look nice and add a nice touch to the theme of the game. I tossed the insert that came with the game and put the cards and other components in plastic craft bags. The box is a decent size and fits well for travel. I had no problem playing the game on a plane with three tray tables accessible to me and my friend.

Strategy Tips
This game is chocked full of options to aid in the the bluffing to make it a "best case of the worst situation". The more I played, the more ways I learned to use the Agent X cards to my advantage. Being that Agent X cards are not revealed until the end of the conflict, you never know what is in store at the end of the round.

- When the "Master Spy" Agent X card is in play, the person who claims the objective (again, by equaling or coming closet to the number on the Objective card) has their fortune reversed as the person who lost the objective actually gets to claim the Objective card and points. A person skilled in deception will be able to cover up the fact that they are using this card. However, there are three other cards (Double Agent, Analyst, and Deputy Director) in which the player using the card gets the effect whether they win or lose (without going over into Civil Disorder). Therefore, a player can act like they have the Master Spy card and try to get the other player to lose the "Blackjack" part of the game in order to claim the objective AND make sure that their opponent's effect does not take place.

- The Assassin card can be a thorn in the receiving player's side. This card balances out an overuse of the Master Spy card as the user of the Assassin card takes their opponent's Agent X out of play. Try to gauge when your opponent will use the Master Spy and counter it with your Assassin to remove it from your opponents arsenal. Note, using the Assassin card can eliminate your opponent's Agent X (unless they use the Deputy Director card which cannot be taken out of play), but you do not gain the objective card if you win.

- The Analyst Agent X card can be very useful as it allows the player to look at the next round's top three group cards and arrange them in any order. This works really well if the next Objective card is an event card (one card max, five victory points plus a special action that can be performed at pretty much any time.) Be careful however if your opponent still has the Master Spy!

- Beware of the deceptively large amount of room available on the Objective cards with the five-card max for a 9-point Blackjack play. Getting the 9-points isn't the hard part. Rather, it's breaking the tie. You have to keep in mind that there are only 24 Group cards with four factions (Military, Political, Economic and Media) of value 1 to 6, so there is only one card of each. If you find yourself in a tie situation, make sure you can get a higher tie-breaker card. If you have confidence that you can draw a military card to eliminate your opponent's high card without putting yourself into Civil Disorder, go for it. If you have a Deputy Director Card in play, it may be worth it (Deputy Director cannot be removed from play or sent on leave), if not, make sure you can live without the Agent X you have selected in the possible case of Civil Disorder.

- "Play fakes" can also add some fun to the game. Acting like your are going to activating a Political Group card (which allows the player to move your card or the opponent's card to the other side of the table as long as it does not cause civil disorder) can make your opponent think twice as to whether or not you are trying to win or lose the "Blackjack" part of the game.

Summary
For the online price of about $14.00 it's hard to pass this game up. I'll admit, I am a sucker for the Cold War theme, but I would still approve of this game if it was about colonizing Puerto Rico or trading in the Mediterranean. If you like games that require the skill of bluffing and the clever use of card powers in conjunction with the luck of the draw, then this is a worthwhile game for you to buy.