Summit (game)
Cold War board game that foreshadowed the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Summit is a Cold War board wargame first released in 1961 by Milton Bradley, marketed as "The Top Level Game of Global Strategy," with a second edition coming out in 1971. Players take on the role of a major power from the 1950s or 1960s, managing economic and military growth over each turn in a style similar to Risk.
The game board uses an azimuthal projection of Earth centered on the North Pole. Six playable countries appear in bright colors: the United States (blue), Russia (red), China (yellow), India (green), Western Europe (purple), and South America (orange). Unplayable regions—such as Canada, Mexico, Central America, Central Africa, South Africa, Eastern Europe, the Arab Bloc, the Near East, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the Far East, and Australia—are shown in various shades of brown, with their economic and military value indicated by a point system. Each player country is worth 10 points, while brown regions range from 2 to 8 points.
A small circlet holder with colored flags sits on the board to remind players which countries are allied. This piece is often considered a gimmick, though some house rules give it other uses. Players can build factories (square pieces) and military bases (round pieces) in captured regions. Each turn, players receive Economic Pressure, Popular Support, and Military Threat tokens, which are used to influence the game. A set of cards presents situations players must respond to, ranging from gaining tokens to losing them, similar to Monopoly’s community chest and chance cards.
Alliances are allowed and can help struggling players or create a dominant force, but eventually everyone must defeat their opponents to win. The game requires a mix of social skills, economic knowledge, and military tactics.
A key strategy involves threatening an invasion by deploying military and economic power cards unless an opponent dismantles their bases in a brown region. This scenario played out in real life during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when U.S. President John F. Kennedy demanded the Soviet Union remove its bases from Cuba, bringing the world close to nuclear war. After the crisis, sales of Summit increased significantly.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Milton Bradley
- Date
- 1961
- Players
- 2 to 6
- Ages
- adult
- Setup Time
- > 5 minutes
- Playing Time
- > 1 hour
- Random Chance
- Med
- Skills
- Strategy, Making Allies and Enemies, Planning for the future
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The board is an azimuthal projected map of the Earth looking down at the North Pole. Six playable countries are each a different bright color: United States (Blue), Russia (Red), China (Yellow), India (Green), Western Europe (Purple), and South America (Orange). Unplayable regions are various shades of brown, including Canada, Mexico, Central America, Central Africa, South Africa, Eastern Europe, Arab Bloc, Near East, Southeast Asia, Philippines, Far East, and Australia. Player countries are worth 10 points, while brown regions vary from 2, 4, 6, and 8 points.
Players build factories (square pieces) and military bases (round pieces) in captured regions. Each turn, players receive Economic Pressure, Popular Support, and Military Threat tokens, which are used to influence the game.
Reader's Guide
Summit holds significance as a Cold War board game that directly anticipated the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. One of its primary strategies involves threatening an invasion by deploying military and economic power cards unless an opposing player dismantles their bases in a brown region. This scenario came true one year after the game's release when U.S. President John F. Kennedy demanded that the Soviet Union dismantle its bases in Cuba, bringing the world close to nuclear war. After the crisis, sales of the game shot up. The game's rules book includes the quote: 'Compare some of the plays you are making with the international news of the day. Quite often it will coincide with the play of the game.' The game was reviewed in The Playboy Winner's Guide to Board Games. Its legacy lies in its eerie prediction of real-world events and its reflection of Cold War tensions through gameplay mechanics.
Did You Know?
- The game was introduced in 1961 by Milton Bradley as 'The Top Level Game of Global Strategy'.
- One of its primary strategies—threatening invasion unless an opponent dismantles bases in a brown region—came true in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
- After the Cuban Missile Crisis, sales of the game shot up.
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