US and THEM casts you as the CIA or KGB, directing a superpower through a contest for global influence during the Cold War. Its central premise replaces battlefield conquest with covert pressure: destabilize rival nations, sway them toward your side, and pursue ideological victory without open warfare. The setting begins in 1960 and draws on historical events and figures, framing each campaign as an effort to reshape the political landscape.
The strategy unfolds in turns, with money, oil, and technology supporting a worldwide network of spies, assassins, and specialists. Players can organize coups, bribery, propaganda, or assassinations, while research opens up espionage gadgets and competition in the Space Race. Nuclear weapons serve as a threat, but using them to start a nuclear war ends the game.
The listed format is single-player, so this is a contest against an opponent represented within the game rather than a documented online multiplayer mode. Historical figures including Che Guevara, Mao Zedong, and Henry Kissinger can be recruited, each with unique abilities.
