Twilight Struggle Scoring & DEFCON Rules Explained
Twilight Struggle’s score is a tug-of-war on one VP track, with regional scoring cards creating the largest recurring swings.
Presence
Presence requires controlling at least one country in the region.
Domination
Domination requires controlling more countries and more battleground countries than the opponent while controlling at least one non-battleground country.
Control
Control requires controlling more countries than the opponent and every battleground country in the region.
Battleground bonuses
Each controlled battleground contributes additional VP during regional scoring.
VP track
Points move a single marker toward the United States or Soviet side. Reaching the automatic-victory threshold ends the game immediately.
DEFCON
DEFCON limits coup activity and can fall through coups or events. Causing the nuclear-war condition on your own action results in immediate defeat.
Final scoring
If no earlier victory occurs, the game ends with final regional scoring under the standard rules.