Fault Lines

FAULT LINES is a casual geopolitical strategy game — easy to pick up, yet with real depth. A full game fits comfortably into an evening. No armies march across the map, no cities burn. The battle for influence and prestige is fought through diplomacy, aid packages, backroom deals, and the occasional well-timed coup. You take control of one of four superpowers: the United States, Russia, China, or the European Union. Each starts with its own sphere of influence and its own character. The USA is the assertive defender of the liberal world order. Russia is the nuclear great power that relentlessly pressures its neighbors. China is the patient economic colossus — victorious without having to fight. The EU projects soft power into a rules-based world whose grip it is slowly losing. Choose your side and leave your mark. Alongside the race for prestige, you must keep an eye on global tensions. Every aggressive action you take — military aid, coups, destabilization, or sanctions — drives global tensions higher. Tensions ease slowly between turns and can be reduced through summits, but if tensions reach 100%, the game ends immediately in nuclear catastrophe and everyone loses. On top of that, global crises and events demand your response, while your rivals push their own agendas to gain influence and prestige. Can you lead the world without driving it into the abyss?