In Chalice of Poison, two sides represent the regimes of Iran and Iraq, trying to improve their military effectiveness to win the war against the other player without risking their internal regime stability. Players attempt to win the war by seizing territory from and destabilizing their adversary. To do so, they must improve their military forces, commanders, and practices to support those objectives. They must move from a "coup-proof" military that prizes loyalty and fervor at all costs to a professional one that values competence and skill. Each of these improvements comes at a cost to the regime s political power, either expending it or devolving it to other actors. If a regime captures a certain amount of key territory from the adversary, it wins the game! But, if a regime becomes too weak in the face of internal threats—dissident groups and increasingly powerful military commanders—it is removed from power, and loses the game!

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