Welcome to Twilight-Struggle.com

Welcome to twilight-struggle.com, the home of competitive Twilight Struggle.

Published by GMT Games in 2005, Twilight Struggle is regarded by many as one of the best competitive board games of all time. This website is run and maintained by the ITS Junta, a group of enthusiasts who organize online and live tournaments.

Our Tournaments

We have a large database of over 30,000 competitive games, from 2006 to the present, played by over 1,500 players in over 100 tournaments. Some of the tournaments include:

  • ITSL - The largest yearly international league with geographic divisions (~200 players, 20-game regular season + playoffs).
  • OTSL - A smaller, more casual two-tiered league with non-geographic divisions.
  • RTSL - A four-tiered league with relegation/promotion each season (formerly the Reddit tournament).
  • RATS - A series of asynchronous (21- or 7-day) leagues.
  • World Cup - The largest weekend tournament of the year, featuring an 8-game Swiss format.
  • Grand Slam Series - A yearly series of shorter, one-day tournaments.
  • Convention - A yearly in-person two-day event held in various cities.
  • Nations/US Cup - Regional team tournaments.
  • Champions League - An invite-only tournament inspired by UEFA, featuring winners of regional and grand tournaments.
  • Regional/National Championships - Local leagues feeding into the Champions League.

ITSR Rating System

Although most of our games are played on Playdek’s online app, their rating system can be gamed. Thus, we use our own ITSR, an Elo-based system. Here’s a summary of how it works:

  1. Calculate the rating difference between the two players.
  2. Take 5% of the difference and round it. For friendly games, halve this value.
  3. Apply a baseline (100 points for regular, 50 for friendly games) and adjust the ratings based on the result:
    • If the lower-rated player wins, they gain the baseline + 5% of the difference, and the higher-rated player loses the same amount.
    • If the higher-rated player wins, they gain the baseline - 5% of the difference.
    • In case of a tie, the higher-rated player loses, and the lower-rated player gains 5% of the difference.
  4. Minimum change: ±1 point; maximum change: ±200 points per game.

Community and Resources

Most of our communication happens on WhatsApp and Discord, but players can also set up games via email.

You can find the full ITS rules and the names of Junta members here.

To sign up for tournaments and create a user profile, please use this Google form.

For questions, contact JR Jones at its.junta@gmail.com.

Useful Resources