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Presenting the Focuses that are on offer or in play in a particular timeline, the Focus Management screen lets you select and review the details of each focus. For each focus, you will also set the posture of your nation, to either go for an Arms Race or a Disarmament.

Selecting a Focus

Players alternate choosing a focus, with the USSR always selecting first if both factions are tied for Victory Points, otherwise the faction with the least point selects first. In order to explore a focus, press on the corresponding thumbnail and read the description in the lower part of the screen.

Each focus has a particular objective that has to be achieved within a set number of turns (the large number on the left). Focuses also crucially have one particular domestic interest holder involved for both you and your opponent. Playing a focus, they reward their respective factions by providing 1 interest of their type per turn.

When selecting, you can select one with a known objective (in case you choose one to complete for your faction) or an unknown and try to prevent your opponent from completing it (in case you choose one belonging to the opposing faction). The latter is strategically important when you don't have any objectives that you think you will accomplish or where the interest holders available would provide a type you do not desire for the sake of keeping a good domestic balance.

When you have made up your mind on the Focus you want as your first for the timeline, press on it and press 'Select' in the lower right corner.

Visual of the following example showing the Focus 'Latin American Reds' in Terminal Conflict
Example: The Focus 'Latin American Reds' has to have its objectives achieved within 9 turns, nets 1 People interest per turn to each player and rewards you with 1 Victory Point if achieved or 1 to your opponent should you fail

Skip Focus Selection

After both you and your opponent have each selected and played your first focus for the timeline, you have the possibility to select a new one focus but may now also choose to strategically skip selecting any further focuses for the timeline.
Visual of the 'Skip option' within the Focus Management screen for Terminal Conflict

[ARM] Arms Race Posture

Choosing to launch an 'Arms Race' allows for the creation of regional War Zones (see Chapter 5.2.2) by issuing combat orders (see Chapter 9) targeting a region with at least 3 enemy influence.
Visual of what an Arms Race looks like on the East Asian Theater for the USSR for Terminal Conflict

[DISARM] Disarmament Posture

Unlike an Arms Race, the Disarmament posture has three main effects and one bonus effect:
  1. All friendly units are garrisoned and removed from the map, each reducing the Doomsday Clock by 1. Redeploying them holds the usual deployment cost and all units that remain garrisoned by the end of the focus are retired to their factions respective Command Reserves.
  2. As logistics is preoccupied with supplying the garrisoned units, your Command Reserve is unavailable during that timeline.
  3. Mutual disarmament concludes all War Zones in the focus theater.
  4. One-Sided Disarmament Bonus: Whenever a sole faction chooses to disarm in a theater, local diplomatic goodwill generated by the pledge will grant them influence points equal to half the turns granted by the focus (rounded down).
Visual of what a Disarmament looks like for the USSR in the Western European [WEEU] Theater for Terminal Conflict

Actions in Non-Focus Theaters

In the Cold War, action and consequences are always on a global scale. This means that both factions can always act in every theater, not only in the one chosen in the present Focus.

The only restriction is the cost of doing so, as military actions will upset your domestic audience for drifting outside your political focus each costing you 1 People interest.

Visual of what the People cost of an out of theater movement of a unit would cost in Terminal Conflict
Example: The USSR is ready to issue combat orders to an Army Command in the Levantian Zone, Middle East theater. As the focus is on South America, indicated by the Orientation Minimap button (see Chapter 4.3.1), the USSR will suffer 1 People interest by taking military action in this theater instead.
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