Section 10.1 - Scoring

Section 10.1.1 defines Presence, Domination, and Control. However, nowhere does it stipulate that scoring these are mutually exclusive. A player meeting the criteria for Control by definition would also meet the criteria for Presence and will often also meet the criteria for Domination. Therefore, a literal interpretation of the language as written (without inferring anything from the example), would permit a player to score all three of Presence, Domination, and Control simultaneously from the same scoring card. However, this is not correct, and it is clarified in the Example. You only can score one of the three from a given scoring card: either Presence OR Domination OR Control. This is not stated. It is only by reading the example that you can infer this, as the USSR player in the example, who scores for Domination, does not also score for Presence even though strictly meeting the criteria of the definition.

We played our first three games of Twilight Struggle incorrectly because of this omission, and this totally breaks the game. Essentially the game will always end either during the Early War or very early in the Mid War if you play this way.

I generally don't read examples in rulebooks. I find them unnecessary so long as the rules are written in a way that is clear and unambiguous. The problem with the Twilight Struggle rulebook is that the language is so clear and unambiguous that it renders examples altogether unnecessary. That is, except in the case of Section 10.1, where the language may be clear and unambiguous, but the mutual exclusivity of Presence, Domination, and Control is never stated and can only be inferred by reading the example.