Days of Decision II: Global Political Conflict – 1936-1939

About this board game

Days of Decision II: Global Political Conflict – 1936-1939 is a strategic-level political game for 2–7 players, with an approximate play time of 300 minutes. Covering the period from 1936 to 1946, it explores the political decisions and conflicts that created the Second World War.

Rather than focusing primarily on battlefield operations, the game emphasizes political influence and decision-making. Players can make—or choose not to make—many of the decisions that led to the war, creating a vast range of possible historical outcomes.

Every country affected by the war is represented on an ideological chart. This chart tracks each nation’s movement among the Fascist, Communist, and Democrat spheres of influence. A country’s position is vital because it determines which power controls its decisions and forces.

• Strategic political gameplay centered on the origins of World War II
• An ideological chart tracking Fascist, Communist, and Democrat influence
• International Policy Options, or IPOs, selected from a large array of political choices
• Political Options available only to the country each player is playing

Political decisions are drawn from a broad selection of IPOs, alongside special Political Options available only to the country controlled by each player. These choices make the political structure of the game central to its unfolding conflicts.

Based on the original Days of Decision, this second edition is described as almost a new game. While the first game offered four million possible outcomes, Days of Decision II offers over one hundred trillion possible outcomes according to its designer, making it a detailed exploration of how political choices can reshape the road to war.