# Global Thermonuclear War **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 11, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965 "2018-12-11T21:19:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/1 "2018-12-11T21:19:09Z")
I know that the only winning move is not to play, but put yourself into the shoes of Dr Strangelove or Herman Kahn. What are the best games in the style? [_Balance of Power_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_of_Power_(video_game)) is a classic, but there you need to _avoid_ a nuclear confrontation. [DEFCON](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEFCON_(video_game)) has cute graphics, but is obviously not a WarGames-style simulated Global Thermonuclear War. _Bravo Romeo Delta_ is getting interesting, but what is happening behind the curtain? It does not have to be a commercial video game or necessarily a computer game at all; maybe there was a real version of the military wargame depicted in the movie? Someone somewhere was and is contemplating the unthinkable; they have to learn somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/2 "2018-12-11T21:30:13Z")
So I want to ask, shall we play a game? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/3 "2018-12-11T21:53:41Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > So I want to ask, shall we play a game? How about a nice game of chess? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/4 "2018-12-11T22:01:08Z")
A year after the movie, [ColecoVision had a game version of the iconic scene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames_(video_game)) and [this nuclear defense game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Room_(video_game)) which came out the same year as the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/5 "2018-12-11T22:03:49Z")
[Countermeasure](http://www.atarihq.com/reviews/5200/countermeasure.html), Atari 5200 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/6 "2018-12-11T22:10:47Z")
What about the old Nuclear War card game? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/7 "2018-12-11T22:22:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What about the old Nuclear War card game? That was the first thing I thought of, too; [Flying Buffalo still makes it!](http://www.flyingbuffalo.com/nucwar.htm) The second thing I thought of was [the old Amiga game _Nuclear War_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RdKkBDXG2U). ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/8 "2018-12-11T22:36:59Z")
The problem with DEFCON is that there is no way to avoid nuclear war - your opponent (the computer) escalates the situation to an all-out nuclear exchange regardless of whether you want it or not. That was the biggest irk for me in what was otherwise a pretty good budgetware game. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/9 "2018-12-11T22:43:06Z")
Also the old _First Strike_ board game… What game do people think is the most “realistic” and/or immersive enough to leave you with a distinct uneasy feeling and a desire to take up chess? ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2018, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/global-thermonuclear-war/825965/10 "2018-12-11T23:52:35Z")
Supremacy really makes for a tense evening and can ruin friendships > **[Supremacy (board game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supremacy_%28board_game%29?wprov=sfla1)** > > Supremacy: The Game of the Superpowers is a political, economical, and military strategic board wargame published in 1984 by Supremacy Games, and designed by Robert J. Simpson. > The game uses an area map similar in concept to the one used in Risk. However, Supremacy also divides the oceans into sea zones. In 1991 the Supremacy: Mega Map expansion was released doubling the amount of playable territories. > Land zones are divided into two categories; active home superpower territories, and neutrals/...