According to the “multiverse” theory, there could hypothetically exist a universe in which the world’s history has played out exactly the same as it has in the current universe; with the exception that animals with intelligence equal to that of humans were the planet’s dominant species. In the case of such a universe, that would potentially also mean that the entirety of the Cold War was navigated by a bald eagle representing the United States and a grizzly bear representing the USSR.

I know that’s an exceptionally specific moment in world history to highlight in the case of this hypothetical universe. However, if you’ve ever wondered what such a course of events might entail, or if I’ve managed to pique your interest up to this point, I may have stumbled upon just the game for you.

The game in question is called Precipice, developed and published by LRDGames, Inc. I happened to come across it while aimlessly browsing the Steam store’s turn-based strategy section in the hopes of finding something interesting.

It would seem that I’ve indeed managed to find something interesting, though a game like Precipice was certainly not what I expected. I definitely don’t mean to say that’s a bad thing, however. I’ll do my best to illustrate why this particular game caught and held my attention for as long as it has.

Precipice is a turn-based strategy game intended for one-to-two players. You can choose to play as either the United States or the Soviet Union. There are two main ways to achieve victory: be the first to reach eighteen diplomatic victory points, or have a higher score than your opponent after fifty turns.

As the game will tell you before you begin a round, “the path to victory will require diplomacy, subterfuge, misdirection, and a lot of bravery.” That statement is exceptionally accurate. All of the aforementioned aspects play significant roles within Precipice. 

Before you officially begin a round of Precipice, you’re asked to pick three perks that will affect the course of the game. Although you start with most perks locked and unavailable, I’ve found that the perks that are initially available are decent enough for a player who’s just starting out.

Most of these perks have effects along the lines of allowing players to more easily detect clandestine activity in certain countries, or preventing one’s opponent from establishing one of their spies within a given nation.

The topic of spies leads me to one of the central gameplay mechanics within Precipice. Both the USSR and the United States have access to three spies. Spies are essential for certain methods of winning a given country’s allegiance through such methods as instigating and executing coups in order to install a new government which pledges its loyalty to whichever player overthrew its previous government.

Players can also use one or two of their “action points” (which I’ll discuss in detail momentarily) to perform “counterspy” operations. In doing so, players can essentially make an educated guess as to whether or not an enemy spy is established in a chosen country. If a given nation does contain an enemy spy, these counterspy operations will result in the enemy spy’s assassination.

Neither the Soviet Union nor the United States can replace spies which are assassinated. Additionally, the mere act of sending a spy to a given country can result in that spy’s assassination. For example, if the United States sends a spy to a country which contains a Soviet spy, the American spy will immediately be killed.

As I alluded to a moment ago, actions within Precipice are taken using “action points” (henceforth referred to as “AP”). These points are represented by stacks of money and each player has five points to spend throughout each turn. AP can be used for a variety of actions other than counterspy operations. For example, AP can be used to enter diplomatic talks with a country, provide foreign aid, or outright invade a country if diplomacy proves fruitless or a more immediate solution proves necessary.

I mentioned a few moments ago that, according to the game, winning a round of Precipice will require “a lot of bravery.” That’s mainly because of another of the game’s central mechanics. If your enemy happens to become aware of something you’ve done that they dislike, such as funding an insurgency, attempting a coup, or invading a country, they can challenge you to essentially cease and desist.

If you find yourself in that situation, you can either immediately back down or issue a counterpoint to your opponent’s challenge. There are potentially significant drawbacks to taking either of these options, however. Backing down at any point will be perceived as an act of weakness by some portion of your allied nations, which will cause you to lose some degree of your influence over them.

Alternatively, as I said, you can issue a counterpoint to your opponent’s accusations in an attempt to cause them to back down. For example, if my opponent challenged me for funding an insurgency, I would have the option to justify my actions. My opponent might then choose to drop the issue and back down, or they may choose to escalate the issue by bringing the case to the United Nations.

If that didn’t cause either side to back down, I could threaten military intervention. If such a threat was unsuccessful, I would essentially be forced to back down or risk ending the game in a draw via global nuclear war.

Overall, I enjoy Precipice as a whole. I’ve found certain aspects of its gameplay difficult to quickly wrap my head around, but the in-depth tutorial essentially taught me the vast majority of what I would need to know. Precipice has led me to think that perhaps I should begin to broaden my turn-based strategy game horizons beyond just the latest iteration of Sid Meier’s Civilization, and I consider that to be a good thing.

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Precipice

$9.59 USD

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Interesting Concept
• Engaging Gameplay
• In-Depth Tutorial Provides a Solid Understanding of Mechanics

Cons

• Certain Gameplay Mechanics Can Be Confusing