Nuclear War

Overview

Nuclear War is a satirical card game where 2-6 players represent major world powers competing for world domination. Players can win peacefully through propaganda (stealing enemy population) or violently through nuclear weapons. Population is the measure of success; lose all your population and you are eliminated – but you get one final retaliatory strike. The last player with population remaining wins, though it is possible for nobody to win.

Components

• 20 Population cards (denominations: 1 million, 2 million, 5 million, 10 million, 25 million)
• 100 Nuclear War cards (warheads, delivery systems, propaganda, anti-missile, secret, top secret)
• 2 Ten-sided dice
• Player placemats (with spaces for face up card, two face down cards, two deterrent cards, and population)

Setup

1. Select a random first player.
2. Deal population cards based on player count:

Players	Population Cards Each
2	15
3	10
4	8
5	7
6	6

1. Place remaining population cards in a central bank.
2. Shuffle the Nuclear War deck. Deal 9 cards to each player. Place the rest face down as the draw pile.

Turn Structure

Opening Round

1. Each player plays all secret and top secret cards from hand, discarding them after resolution and drawing replacements until no secrets remain in hand.
2. Each player places 2 cards face down on their placemat (committing to a strategy for the first two turns).

Regular Turn

1. Draw Cards and Resolve Secrets: Draw until hand size reaches 10 (including face-down placemat cards, excluding face-up). Resolve any secret/top secret cards immediately upon drawing, then continue drawing.
2. Shift Cards: The first face-down card moves to the face-up position. The second face-down card shifts to first position.
3. Modify Deterrents: Optionally move a card between hand and deterrent locations (visible to all players).
4. Place a Card: Place one card from hand or deterrent onto the second face-down position.
5. Resolve Face-Up Card: Flip and resolve the card now in the face-up position.
6. End Turn: Play passes clockwise (unless a missile was intercepted, in which case the last interceptor goes next).

Actions

Card Types

Card Type	Effect
Propaganda	Steal population from an opponent (only works during peace)
Delivery System (Missile/Bomber)	Sets up an attack; stays face up. Next turn must reveal a compatible warhead or discard
Warhead	Must be preceded by a compatible delivery system. Launches an attack
Anti-Missile	Played from hand to intercept an incoming attack (lists which delivery systems it can stop)
Secret/Top Secret	Resolved immediately when drawn; various effects

Attacking

1. A warhead paired with a delivery system triggers a mandatory attack.
2. Choose a target player.
3. Target may play an anti-missile card to intercept (all players must indicate whether they intercept, even if they cannot).
4. If not intercepted, roll two d10 on the Nuclear Fallout Chart.
5. Missiles: Discarded after use. Bombers: Can attack multiple turns until payload is exhausted.

Nuclear Fallout Chart

Roll (d100)	Result	Effect
00-04	Missile explodes on launch / Bomber out of fuel	Attacker takes damage (missile) or attack fails (bomber)
05-09	Dud warhead	No effect
10-22	Bomb shelter saves 2M	Target takes damage minus 2 million
23-35	Additional 1M engulfed	Target takes damage plus 1 million
36-49	No radiation fallout	Target takes listed damage
50-63	Radioactive fallout	Target takes damage plus 2 million
64-76	Beta rays	Target takes damage plus 5 million
77-89	Gamma rays	Target takes damage plus 10 million
90-94	Dirty Bomb	Target takes damage x 2
95-99	Stockpile explosion	Target takes damage x 3 (Super Chain Reaction possible with 100 MT warhead)

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• A player is eliminated when their population reaches 0.
• The last player with at least 1 million population wins.
• It is possible for no one to win (mutual annihilation via chain reaction of final retaliations).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• State of Peace / State of War: Once a warhead target is selected, war begins. Propaganda cards are ineffective during war. Peace is restored only after at least one player is eliminated. Upon restoration of peace, players may replace one or two face-down cards.
• Final Retaliation: An eliminated player (by weapons, not propaganda) may immediately launch all remaining weapon combinations. Targets are announced before rolling. If final retaliation eliminates another player, that player also retaliates, creating potential chain reactions.
• Self-destruction: If you draw a secret/top secret that eliminates your own population, you still get final retaliation.
• Delivery system compatibility: Each delivery system lists a maximum warhead size; any warhead at or below that number can be carried.
• Anti-missile bluffing: Even players without anti-missile cards must indicate they are not intercepting, to prevent revealing hand information.

Player Reference

Population Cards	Value
4 cards	1 million each
4 cards	2 million each
4 cards	5 million each
4 cards	10 million each
4 cards	25 million each

Game State	Propaganda Effect
Peace	Active (steal population)
War	No effect (discarded)