The work was saved by a friend at "InfoWorld", who heard of his troubles and published a two-part column on the game. The article was seen by a producer at the newly formed Mindscape, who agreed to publish it. Betas were ready in February 1985 and were polished through the spring and summer. The game was released in September and was an immediate sensation given that the world was then at the height of the Cold War. The fame was in no small part helped by a review in "The New York Times Magazine" written by David L. Aaron, Jimmy Carter's Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, who called it "about as close as one might get to the cut-and-thrust of international politics without going through confirmation by the Senate."