Balance of Power: International Politics As the Ultimate Global Game

by Chris Crawford

Balance of Power is a computer strategy game of geopolitics during the Cold War, written by Chris Crawford and published in 1985. The game is notable for engaging the player in nail-biting brinkmanship without using any graphics more complicated than an outline map of the world.

Genres: Game Design

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Craig Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent insight into the thinking that made the excellent "Balance of Power" game. But rather than just a simple "this is what I did" Chris also illuminates the history that lead to the decision. He also takes a chapter to explain the game design process behind the game and how it didn't emerge fully formed and ready for publishing. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

[Misty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Invaluable look at the design of a classic game Balance of Power, by Chris Crawford, the sole designer. Includes post mortem.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is of course, a book by Chris Crawford, the genius behind the classic computer game Balance of Power. There are lots of interesting insights into the development process of software generally, and of the game itself. BoP was actually designed FOR the MacIntosh. That in of itself makes it unusual. Crawford's thinking was that Mac users would be a little more sophisticated than the general game consumer, so they would be more accepting of a game of BoP's complexity. I played the game on the Mac, so he must have been right.

He illustrates the central mechanisms of the game, like the crisis, coups, and Finlandization with historical anecdotes. While Crawford is infintely smarter than I am, his illustrations are a little fascile, and wouldn't demonstrate much depth to even a casual student of the Cold War. Further, though it occassionally dips into the self-congratulatory, the book is a smoothe read. The reduction of complex international interactions into algorythms was suprisingly interesting as he walks the reader descriptively through them.

The most interesting chapter to me dealt with the things he left out and why. One was Arms Control. While cards of Twilight Struggle deal with the major arms agreements, we really do not have a subsytem for this major component of the Cold War either. Trade and a variety of other international considerations are gone. Its one of the beauties of his design that he did not weigh it down with a lot of distracting complexity. Its a temptation we see in action all too often now. Crawford did have to contend with the limitations of processors of the era, but still, it seems to have made a better game.

I also learned quite a bit about the proper play of the game from the appendix illustration of the game. I did win the game, but had to save a lot to do it. Now I see there was a minimalist ethic running through the approach to intervention, and I should have been more selective. Makes me want to download it again, adn give it a try.

Anyway, if you have the kind of nostalgia for this game that I do, I commend this book to you.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought my first pc in 1985 (it, a Zenith-manufactured 286, being a replacement for a Commodore 64) and its first game a bit later almost immediately after having read a review of it in The Nation magazine. The review was quite glowing. The game was a disappointment though the book about it was somewhat interesting.