13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis

Twilight Struggle remains a gold standard of boardgames, but it's big and long and intimidating, so folks have tried to make versions of it that are a little more manageable. 1955 was one such creature, and wasn't bad, though it simplified things a little too much. Now there's 13 Days, a game focusing on the Cuban Missile Crisis, which also looks to shrink TS down into a more agreeable footprint.

It does a pretty good job of this. You're never unaware of the game which inspired this, but it still manages to also do its own thing. As is appropriate to the theme, you always feel inches away from a nuclear war, and it's super easy to get into a position where you can be maneuvered or bumble into doing so. There's also an element where you will want to pull out of locations, both to lower your defcon and to get precious precious cubes back.

Better than just "tiny struggle". A short CDG is a welcome thing and 13 Days is a good one.