From game box back "NATO Commander is a scrolling Real-Time wargame that requires Joint Chief's-of-Staff strategic thinking and arcade speed decisions. Players must receive, analyze and react to the multitude of combat reports that are received from the battlefront during a Soviet Bloc invasion of Europe on May Day in the future. The game player is the NATO Commander and he must deploy his mechanized and armored units, his defensive reserves, and ultimately, if warranted, his tactical nuclear weapons to stop the Soviet advance into Europe. This single player simulation takes place in accelerated Real-Time. The NATO commander receives continuous radio, teletype and combat communication updates and must devise his own strategy and tactics."