"Doom and Gloom" Topic

I like the early 60's, so preferred to set things just after JFK has been assassinated (whether by Soviet design or simply taking advantage so far has never been figured out… my players invariably go nuclear before we know…)

Late 70's early 80's (when I was "there")

I had been in the US Army exactly one week and had just begun basic training at Fort Bragg when the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968. We were called out for a company formation, where we were told to pack our gear and prepare to move out under command of the 82nd Airborne. We spent the entire night get a crash course in weapons and small unit tactics. By morning, the alert had been called off and we went back to the usual training schedule. I have often wondered what would have happened if that shooting war had actually broken out.

LT

50's or 60's when the equipment is pretty even and it's not rockets everywhere.

My instinctive response was the 1980's but that might be because when I did Cold War gaming (i.e. before the guy with the T-72s and Abrams moved) it was 1980s era

How about near future, say 2020-2030? You'd have to do some extrapolation of modern equipment.

I agree with Kent; near future is the way to go (even though the Warsaw Pact doesn't exist anymore). For one good example: NATO responding to an all out Russian invasion of the Ukraine.