The Short and Curlies

I’ve played the vast majority of my 70-odd games of

Twilight Struggle online, either against live opponents or via e-mail. But a few times I’ve had the pleasure of playing it face to face. I love teaching it to other people because it’s such a great game and it’s a delight watching them gradually pick it up until the penny drops and they’re totally in the zone with it. I can remember taking it to visit my regular gaming opponent Graham and teaching him how to play with an open hand for the first turn. I dealt the cards for the second turn and, being the seasoned player that I am and knowing what the cards did from the titles alone, quickly organised my hand and looked up at Graham who was having to plough through all the card text. And he wasn’t there. Well, he was physically but his eyes were glazed, totally fixated on those eight cards in his hand, and mentally he was back in the 1940’s, fighting the cold war. And I knew at that point that the game had him by the balls and he was going to love it.