Perhaps the bidding rules were designed before it became obvious that you should always bid USSR for a balanced game. If the players select different sides they start with their selected side and no handicaps. It certainly could have done with a better in-app explanation though. It's just the way the bidding works according to the rules. Now it makes sense - though why they did it this way doesn't. Thank you for this! I have consistently been confused by this. Highest bid gets USSR, and gives that bid to opponent, who takes US. You want to select USSR, then bid how much influence you will give the US. Originally posted by Benkyo:Just so you know, the bidding interface is a little unintuitive. Mid and Late War are weighted in favour of the USA though, so that's where you try to claw back the lead. There's a lot to do with limited OPs in the Early War onslaught, that's meant to be tough on the USA. Spread in Africa early, don't give up on Middle East. Give the USSR something to worry about in the last AR of your turn, to make their coups less simple. Some general points - focus on battlegrounds, don't waste OPs on lost causes, but do worry about VPs. Get better at the game, and regardless of whether or not you use a handicap, you will see more wins as the USA. The main thing is to rethink your strategy as the USA. The DLC isn't very balanced, I wouldn't recommend it. That's not really representative of actual balance, just how the AI is programmed. The AI is much better at playing USSR, because it is a bit crap. That should get you to about a 50/50 win ratio. The best balance at tournament levels has been consistently found with a 2 inlfuence handicap to the USA.

USSR is stronger, and in a default game with 'optional' cards and no handicap, is expected to win about 60% of games, or something like that.

Twilight onslaught not showing