Balance of Power: Geopolitics in the Nuclear Age

Balance of Power: Geopolitics in the Nuclear Age casts the player as either the US President or the Russian General Secretary during the Cold War. Across eight years in office, the goal is to increase national power and prestige without triggering a nuclear catastrophe.

Players can pursue diplomacy, negotiate treaties, authorize covert CIA or KGB operations, and intervene militarily to influence countries and insurgencies around the world. Actions require careful consideration of the opponent’s potential response, whether controlled by the computer or another player.

The game models 62 countries using information on their governments, demographics, resources, and other conditions current to 1985. It was published by Mindscape in 1986 for Amiga, Apple II, Atari ST, Atari ST/STE, DOS, Mac, and MSX2.