TIPPING THE BALANCE

A GUIDE TO THE DELICATE ART OF REALPOLITIK

POPULARITY CONTEST

■ The aim of Balance Of Power is to increase your superpower’s prestige points without triggering a nuclear war. You do that by getting as many minor countries on your side as possible, either by helping them out or by replacing their governments with more sympathetic ones.

CHECK THE NEWS

■ Start your turn by checking the Events tab to see what’s been going on. The newspaper gives an overview of current affairs, while the US Actions and USSR Actions tabs let you find out what that naughty opposing superpower has been up to.

QUESTION CAREFULLY

■ You can question your opponent’s actions, but be careful. If they respond aggressively, you could trigger a diplomatic crisis. In that case, either you or your opponent backs down, losing prestige points in the process, or the crisis escalates. You should only start a crisis if you think your opponent will back down.

SUPPORT INSURGENTS

■ There are three types of insurgents: terrorists, guerrillas and rebels. If a country with an unfriendly government has an insurgency going on, you can support the insurgents with funding or even send your own troops to join them. But you can only send weapons to a country through contiguous allies.

PROTECT YOUR FRIENDS

■ You can win over allies by sending them economic aid, and if an insurgency begins in a friendly country, you can send weapons or troops to help your government. But be aware that some governments might not allow foreign troops to land on their soil.

GAME OVER

■ The game stops after ten years, at which point you’ll get a score based on how many prestige points you’ve gained compared to your opposing superpower. But if at any point a diplomatic crisis escalates into a military crisis all the way up to DEFCON 1, then nuclear war begins and it’s game over.