GMT Games 1989 Dawn of Freedom Board Game Overview and Review

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1. J Verified Buyer – 6 May 2024

   This game is almost a copy of “Twilight The Struggle” in terms of the way you play, the pieces, and the cards. The Game is fun till mid way through turn 8 then it gets boring. “Twilight The Struggle” is way better than this one in my opinion, don’t get me wrong its a fun game just not as good as “Twilight The Struggle”.
   

2. Richard Ferro Verified Buyer – 6 October 2024

   If you like twilight struggle then you will find this game entertaining. Very similar and about the cold war. Worth the cost.
   If you are unfamiliar with twilight struggle I suggest you buy that title first.
   

3. Simon Bolivar Verified Buyer – 23 February 2025

   Very Educational and Fun game
   

4. Prole Center Verified Buyer – 4 March 2025

   A fun semi-historical political war game that seeks to simulate the counter revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe. The narrative is told through the standard Western perspective as you might imagine, but it’s still really fun to play. I had to take off one star for political bias. Maybe if they had accurarely called the “Democrat” player CIA or NATO I could have given it five stars.
   

5. Cody Carlson Verified Buyer – 13 March 2025

   “1989: Dawn of Freedom” is a worthy successor to “Twilight Struggle,” and a great game in its own right. “1989” follows the political decline of the communist bloc countries of Eastern Europe during that fateful year. One player takes on the role of the communist, while the other takes on the role of the democrat (little ‘d’). Using a fun card driven mechanic, each turn players must play a card- either for its event or for its point value, which allows players to place their control markers throughout the board of Eastern Europe. The problem is that if you play a card for its point value, it automatically triggers the event anyway- and you will be holding cards that have events that favor your opponent. What this means is that you will be making really tough decisions throughout the game, and unwittingly you will be forced to help your opponent. One notable difference from “Twilight Struggle” is the scoring system, in which battles occur in nations being scored. Players have a second hand of cards that contain different segments of society such as intellectuals, workers, party bureaucracy, and more. When one player plays a card the other play must match it, then has a chance to win the initiative in the battle. If you can’t match your opponent’s card, you lose the battle. There is a bit more to it than that, but that is the basic idea. The game is essentially a to see how long the communist player can hold out in the wave of democratic events. If the communist can hold out long enough he wins the game. Conversely, if the democrats succeeded in winning a lot of political battles he will win the game. Like “Twilight Struggle” there is a single score track and a tug of war takes place between the players. If ever a player gains too many points he can win the game suddenly. If you enjoyed “Twilight Struggle” or games with deep strategy and difficult decisions, you will love “1989: Dawn of Freedom.” Together with “Twilight Struggle,” “1989” is one of my favorite board games.

   

6. Christopher Verified Buyer – 9 April 2025

   This is a war style strategy game that simulates the period of time when the Berlin Wall fell. This is a follow up from the game designers of Twilight Struggle but the focus isn’t on military campaigns as much as it is upon winning the hearts and minds of certain groups of citizens in Eastern Europe and Germany. The events will not be as familiar to Americans as those in Twilight Struggle, but the events are all historical and will be an education from that time period. The game is a worthy stand alone from Twilight Struggle and is worth having.