Fit check
Is US and THEM worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Strategy players who prefer espionage and diplomacy over battlefield combat
- History-focused players who want Cold War events and recognizable political figures
- Turn-based players who enjoy managing resources, agents, and shifting international influence
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking direct battlefield control, since conflict is handled through espionage, political pressure, and covert actions
- Players wanting a tightly fixed campaign, since random events and changing strategies alter each playthrough
- Players who prefer individual-character RPG progression rather than global resource and influence management
Our take on US and THEM
Its focus on covert politics and global management sacrifices direct combat control. Nuclear weapons also function as a strategic threat with a hard failure condition: using them ends the game, limiting how they can be employed.
What is US and THEM?
Choose the CIA or KGB and compete for global influence during the Cold War from 1960 onward.
The game uses turn-based decisions covering money, oil, technology, spies, assassins, and specialist agents placed around the world. Covert actions can destabilize countries, support coups, conduct assassinations, use bribery or propaganda, and shift nations toward one ideology. Random events draw on historical people and situations, while recruitable figures such as Che Guevara, Mao Zedong, Henry Kissinger, Fidel Castro, and the Pope provide distinct abilities. Research includes spy equipment, space-race technology, and nuclear capabilities, although nuclear war ends the game. Special doctrines include Domino Theory and Communist Sandwich tactics, with different events and strategies across playthroughs.
How US and THEM plays
- 01Global covert operations
- Agents can destabilize countries, organize coups, conduct assassinations, and spread propaganda without conventional combat.
- 02Resource administration
- Money, oil, and technology support espionage networks, specialist recruitment, and broader strategic decisions.
- 03Historical personalities
- Recruitable figures from the Cold War period contribute individual abilities to the chosen side.
- 04Space and nuclear strategy
- Research technological advances, compete in the Space Race, and use nuclear forces as a threat while avoiding nuclear war.
- 05Cold War doctrines
- Special tactics can make one country's collapse spread to others or surround an opponent with hostile states.
US and THEM compared to similar games
US and THEM centers on Cold War espionage, international influence, covert operations, and resource management, unlike Men of War: Assault Squad's direct control of units in World War II battles. Xenonauts also uses turn-based strategy, but its focus is defending Earth from aliens with persistent soldiers and recovering alien technology.
US and THEM: platforms & release
Is US and THEM worth it?
It is worth it if: strategy players who prefer espionage and diplomacy over battlefield combat. Skip it if: players seeking direct battlefield control, since conflict is handled through espionage, political pressure, and covert actions.
Where can I download US and THEM?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens US and THEM's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is US and THEM on?
Windows only.
