DefCon is the newest game from Introversion, independent developers of cult-hits Uplink and Darwinia. The game is, essentially, the cool bit from WarGames, with The Big Board that tracked nuclear launches and what have you. Your interface IS that Big Board.
The game has been described as "like an RTS but with the resource bits taken out." The game begins at DefCon (defense condition ) 5, where each player (who possesses a major landmass and surrounding ocean; North America, South America, Russia, Europe, Asia, and Africa are the possibilities) places Radar Stations, Missile Silos, and Airbases on land, and fleets of various composition at sea. Each player is given the same number of units, so the game comes down to using them correctly.
As the game goes on, the DefCon counts down; at 3 aggressive conventional war begins, and at 1 nuclear war is authorized. Nukes can be launched from submarines, bombers, or missile silos; the only defense against them is missile silos.
Oh, did I mention that the silos can be either attacking or defending, but not both, and it takes a long downtime to switch between the two? And did I ALSO forget to mention that all nuke launches reveal the launch site to everyone else?
The way the interplay between defense and offense works out, mutually assured destruction is basically guaranteed. The default scoring system (though there are others) encourages this; you score two points for every million enemy civilians you kill, and lose one for every million civilians you lose. There's a reason that the tagline for the game is "Everyone Dies".
The game supports varying levels of alliance, such as radar-sharing and ceasefires. There's no such thing as an alliance victory or a tie game, though, so expect to be backstabbed, and when it comes, expect it to go right through your fucking kidneys.
Think the fact that you score by reducing the enemy's civilian population to nought is morbid? Wait until you play the game, and hear the (incredible) music and sound effects. If you're prone to that sort of thing, you'll probably go a little emo the first few times.
DefCon. It's global thermonuclear war, and you can't win.
But maybe--just maybe--you can lose the least. [/b]