Summer of 1985, hardline members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union who were opposed to the new reform program, take control of the country from Soviet President and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.
The new leaders, faced with the economic and social crisis unleashed, decide to invade Western Europe, and for this they begin to prepare all the economic, diplomatic and military resources of the Warsaw Pact. The new political bureau has to choose between starting a war immediately or waiting to accumulate resources and troops in greater numbers, hoping that the NATO countries do not become stronger in the same way.
1987 focuses on a hypothetical but possible third worldwide large-scale military conflict. Players control land, air, and naval forces of the various sides engaged in the conflict. The scenarios provided allow players to examine multiple aspects of how a World War 3 could develop. NATO and WP are challenged to win quickly and decisively, as both forces and munitions downgraded rapidly in the face of modern combat operations.
The game is divided in a PreWar phase and a War Phase. In the PreWar phase players consume resource points to improve their military forces or their diplomatic or technological positions. During the War phase players are given a hand of cards to play out seven segments of each turn. The deck of cards forces players to constantly make decisions as they need to do a little bit of everything (move units, reinforce the armies, build resources points...) but they can only do one thing at a time. How and when players play the cards will decide to a large degree the outcome of the war.
—description from the publisher