Apocalypse: The Game of Nuclear Devastation

Apocalypse is a game of conquest for 2–4 players similar to Risk, albeit with nuclear weapons.

Reviewer John Lambshead suggested it was so advantageous to go first that players should roll dice every turn to decide this.

)[2] The game box contains:[2] A turn uses the following sequence: fire missiles, build armies, move, attack.

[2] Areas that are irradiated can be cleaned up as long as the reclaiming player takes no other actions that turn.

[2] In 1974, Mike Hayes, a student at University of Sheffield, self-published a game of nuclear war in Europe for 2–7 players packaged in a plain red box titled The Warlord.

In 1980, Games Workshop acquired the rights from Hayes and revised the game, simplifying the rules, reducing the number of players to 4, removing hydrogen bombs, allowing irradiated areas to be cleaned up, and cutting the board map in half (eliminating Eastern Europe).

After Apocalypse went out of print, Mike Hayes reacquired the rights and republished his full original game, retitled Classic Warlord, in 2012.

[1] Ladyman commented that "The graphics and component design are up to Games Workshop's usual high standard.

I would consider recommending Apocalypse if an equivalent game wasn't on the market at a cheaper price.

"[6] In Issue 33 of Phoenix, John Lambshead was impressed by the dramatic box cover art by Tony Roberts.

He concluded with a good recommendation, saying, "An attractive package for anyone wanting a multi-player game which is far from mindless but which has rules that can be explained in minutes.