Gorbachev: The Fall of Communism

About this board game

Gorbachev: The Fall of Communism is a solitaire game for one player that takes about 60 minutes, placing you in the Soviet leadership from 1985 to 1991. Your goal is to guide the Soviet Union toward democracy, manage political upheaval, and hold the country together long enough to achieve a treaty with its restive Republics.

The game uses five converging paths to represent the political awakening of the Russian people, the Baltic Republics, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Communist Party. Their People markers move toward Moscow, where any marker that reaches the capital can create the danger of a coup. Three additional tracks—economy, media, and culture—shape the overall situation.

Each turn, a card draw determines which paths and tracks move against you, along with the number of Efforts you receive. You can spend Efforts to push them back in your favor, provided the Effort die roll succeeds. Gorbachev can provide additional Efforts, but his frequent vacations mean that help is not always available.

• Manage limited Efforts while responding to political and social pressure.
• Call in the KGB or gamble with the army, nuclear missiles, and foreign alliances to gain short-term advantages.
• Use disarmament deals and abandon Warsaw Pact allies to seek Western goodwill and more Efforts.
• Watch the 1988 US election, since the President’s view of your policies affects disarmament.

Every risky decision is aimed at preventing a military coup, which can end the game suddenly. Your control of public opinion determines how many Politburo members remain on your side when a coup plot emerges, so stronger play reduces the threat.

In Gorbachev: The Fall of Communism, careful management, uncertain dice rolls, and difficult political gambits define a tense attempt to navigate the collapse of socialism and reshape the Soviet Union.