Balance of Power 1990 edition is a more complicated version of the 1985 edition. I had owned both for my Apple and I loved the simulation and the graphics. There is no movement, but the designers took the time to try to include every country on the globe. The only thing I did not like was the fact that the game never gave you a clear enough warning as to when you were really pushing things too far. This is a classic war strategy game in the style of Command HQ or other beer and pretzels war games.
The "advisors" are useless and I do not understand why they even bothered to put them into the game. The multi-polar level is very complicated and can take forever to play, if you want to do things right. At the end of each turn there is not enough information given to the players to really know what has happened as a result of their actions. Playing with two players is futile, because the gamers who play games like this are the type of people who do not back down and always think they are right (like me) and the world gets blown up on the first turn every time.
I was not expecting mushroom clouds and bodies to be flying
through the air when the game was over, but I do not like how the designers decided to tell us they were not going to put mushroom clouds in because they really are bad. I really did not need the preaching. There could have been a much better ending when you finish the game without blowing up the world.
I did enjoy the fact that my actions could change world governments, but there should be much more of a reward in the end for winning. This is not a game for someone who likes a lot of action. Teh reward has to come from within the individual, having the knowlege that he has conquered a complicated game that puts the onus of the world's safety on him. It is very strategically oriented, so people looking for button-mashing action or fancy graphics will not appreciate Balance of Power's complexity.
This game can still teach someone about the politics of the cold war. As the new generation grows up they have no idea what the cold war was and this game is the perfect tool to teach them. I have fond memories of playing Balance of Power back in the '80s and I still play today. I would encourage anyone who liked this game to seek out a BBS and check out games like Barren Realms Elite, Solar Realms Elite, and Falcon's Eye. These are all text based games that rely heavily on strategy. There are not many other games I could compare Balance of Power to because of the lack of action, most games being made for people who love action and mayhem.
