Learn 13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Learn the game in 5 short steps. Everything links to the full rules.
Win the crisis
Play the USA or USSR over three rounds. Finish ahead in prestige without triggering nuclear war. The Personal Letter breaks a final tie. Start with Teach the Game and the setup checklist.
Read the board
Nine arenas hold influence in military, political and world-opinion categories. More cubes means dominance; a tie gives neither side dominance. Your seventeen cubes must cover every arena you want to contest. See Arenas.
Play four cards
Draw five strategy cards each round and alternate four plays each. Use a card to command in one arena, or resolve your own faction or UN event. An opposing card offers its event to the opponent before your command. See Card play.
Reveal the plan
Flag three possible agendas and secretly keep one. After card play, set aside the final card for the aftermath, resolve world opinion, then reveal both agendas. Either player can score either agenda. See Agendas.
Survive and score
After agendas, check for war: any marker in DEFCON 1, or all three in DEFCON 2, loses. After the third safe round, total faction command values in the aftermath; the higher total earns two prestige. See Game End and Scoring.