Game End and Scoring

Game End and Scoring for 13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962.

Nuclear war

Check only in phase 7, after both agendas. A player triggers nuclear war if either:

• At least one of their DEFCON markers is in DEFCON 1; or
• All three of their DEFCON markers are in DEFCON 2.

That player immediately loses. If both players trigger war in the same check, both lose. Dangerous positions during phases 1–6 do not themselves end the game.

The aftermath

If the third round ends without nuclear war, reveal the shared aftermath pile. Normally it contains six cards from the players’ hands, plus up to three from Alliances.

Add the command values on all USA cards, and separately on all USSR cards. Ignore UN cards. It does not matter who contributed a card. The faction with the higher total gains 2 prestige; a tie grants neither side prestige.

Prestige

The prestige marker is a shared balance, with a maximum lead of 5. Events and agendas can move it during play; the aftermath can change it once more at the end. Reaching 5 does not end the game early.

Winner and ties

After the aftermath, the player whose faction has more prestige wins. If the marker is at the centre, the holder of the Personal Letter wins.