USA overpowered

[Superman]

90% time when i play USA i win because USA instant win late game.
Yeah, you say that USSR is OP early game but does it matter when only late game count?

[BockBockChicken]

Nope. It is not true that only late game counts. Many games end Mid War when USSR snowballs. If US can hold off and survive until Late War, they did their job in holding off the Soviets.

The game design balance has been established for a LONG time in the board game version.

[Superman]

Originally posted by BockBockChicken:

Nope. It is not true that only late game counts. Many games end Mid War when USSR snowballs. If US can hold off and survive until Late War, they did their job in holding off the Soviets.

The game design balance has been established for a LONG time in the board game version.

USSR can't snowballs since he can't do 20 VP!!!
Most games i have in mid war and USA already leading.

[mdoc]

Everyone who plays this game competitively believes the USSR has a significant advantage; in fact, most tournaments I have heard of give US a handicap of +2 influence at the beginning of the game.

[Superman]

Originally posted by MurDOC:

Everyone who plays this game competitively believes the USSR has a significant advantage; in fact, most tournaments I have heard of give US a handicap of +2 influence at the beginning of the game.

They say that short game yes but late game is always easy

[davidvipac]

Originally posted by Superman:

Originally posted by MurDOC:

Everyone who plays this game competitively believes the USSR has a significant advantage; in fact, most tournaments I have heard of give US a handicap of +2 influence at the beginning of the game.

They say that short game yes but late game is always easy

Sorry, but you are absolutely wrong and speaking on your particular experience which is not a general rule. This game is balanced enough though some people give 1 or even 2 influence points handicap to the Us at the beginning of a play to help the capitalists against the soviets.

And of course Late War is not the end of the times for the USSR. The bear has several powerful cards during that period and how the USSR played the early and mid war and the circumstances in every game will decide how the late war will be. It is not carven on stone that the US crushes the USSR during late war, it just has got some additional aids.

Maybe you should look for a better USSR player.

[geepope]

Are you playing against the computer? The AI has several major flaws so if you know what you're doing it's pretty normal to win 90% of the time against it, either as US or USSR.

[Superman]

Originally posted by geepope:

Are you playing against the computer? The AI has several major flaws so if you know what you're doing it's pretty normal to win 90% of the time against it, either as US or USSR.

I'm playing online

[bylandt11]

I can only confirm what the others have said. There's a general agreement that not the US, but the USSR has the advantage. This is backed up by several statistics from tournaments.
But if you don't believe me, we could play a game. I'll be the USSR and you give me a few bonus IP's to compensate for the disdvantage. ;)

[geepope]

One possible explanation: while it's generally believed that the game has a pro-USSR bias, it's actually harder to learn how to play the USSR well. With the game having just launched on Steam a few weeks ago there are probably a lot of new players who can hold their own with the US but are just lost trying to steer the USSR. Inexperienced players don't know how to seize control of the game and are more likely to just sort of muddle along, which is disastrous for the USSR since the clock is ticking against them.

That said, my experience online has been pretty even so far.

[ZenMonkey]

OP, this game has been around for a decade, if U.S. was over powered it would have been found out a long time ago.

[Queeg]

I've yet to win a game as the USA against the AI. My last two games ended with the USSR getting 20 VPs in the Mid-War period.

In one game, I was so busy worrying about Europe, the Middle East and Asia that I didn't notice as the AI slowly built up influence in the Third World. Then it played the Africa and South America scoring cards in the same round - 14 VPs and game over. (Which nicely simulates the actual USSR strategy for much of the Cold War.)

[Lenny]

I'm having the opposite problem! I just can't hold out to late game!

[jgtogi]

The USSR can easily win the game by turn three by taking control of Europe. They get several awesome early game cards such as Socialist Governments, Warsaw Pack, Suez Canal. Charles De Gaul and Blockade. The U.S. get Marshall Pack and Eastern Europe Unrest and that is it early game. If you don't win in Europe you can easily get first access to South America, Africa and South East Asia through even cards mid game. The game only starts to flip late game for the US. Even then if USSR gets War Games they can simply end the game without even getting 20 VP. The US may have the easierime late game but getting to late game is problem for the USA.

[dangermouse29]

Is the original poster talking about the Late War Scenario? Because yes that is very biased to the USA. I don't know if the digital version says anything about it, but I think for the US to win the late war scenario they have to auto-win somehow. Getting to final scoring is a USSR win no matter the score so you are really just trying to hang on with the Soviets.

[Twelvefield]

Regardless of how you feel if USA or USSR is overpowered, a "proper" match has you play out a game, and then play out another game with the same opponent where you've switched sides.