From: irilyth@fenris.claremont.edu (Josh Smith)
Subject: Re: Nuclear Proliferation
Originator: irilyth@fenris
Organization: HMC Academic Computing Services
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 09:48:16 GMT

In a prior article, Martin Snow (colorado@stars.gsfc.nasa.gov) writes:
> I just saw that Flying Buffalo has produced a sequel to Nuclear War and
> Nuclear Escalation called Nuclear Proliferation.  [...] Any reviews?

I've played three games now, and I think it was worth the price. There are
several new types of card, most of which are interesting; the game also adds
a system for players to have special abilities. Worth the price for Nuke War
fans; probably not worth buying on its own (i.e. with Nuke War/Esc), but a
good addition to the other two. More elaborate descriptions follow.

There are a lot of new cards. In addition to the obvious set of warheads and
propaganda, there are several new ways to launch warheads at your opponents.
There are several new secrets, some of them highly amusing. The only new
straight missle system is the SCUD missle, a generic 20-meg delivery system.
There is also a Patriot interceptor, which I think can shoot down an 20- or
10-meg missile.

There are several new ways to fire warheads without missiles. The Stealth
Bomber can be played out of your hand after you flip up a warhead without a
delivery system; the bomber then drops the warhead. This can, among other
things, let you start war on the first turn, and since the bomber can carry
up to 100 megs, it's a nasty little card. There is, of course, a Stealth
Fighter, which can shoot down any of the three types of bombers; note that
the other bomber interceptors cannot take down a Stealth.

Submarines and Atomic Cannons provide new reusable weapon systems. A sub is
sort of like a Space Platform, in at when it's played, you put a 10- or
20-meg warhead face down on the sub for later use, which counts as a card in
your hand. You also note down the target of the sub when it is played, and
this target cannot be changed (an interesting optional rule would be to
allow the target to change at most once per turn). On a subsequent turn, the
sub can fire its warhead at your target, expending the warhead. The turn
after it fires, the sub is exposed, and can be targeted by missiles; if hit
by a non-dud, it is removed from play. If it surivives, on the player's next
turn, the sub can return to port for reloading; on a subsequent turn, it can
take a new warhead from the player's hand, pick a new target, and return to
sea, to fire the warhead on a subsequent turn. This is all in addition to
the normal rolling of cards through the face-down sequence, and while having
a sub isn't a massive advantage, it can have a significant impact on your
foes.

An Atomic Cannon is a simpler system: once played through the face-down
sequence, it is placed off to the side for future use. In subsequent turns,
any 10-megaton warhead you turn up without a missile can be fired from the
cannon at the player to your immediate left or right. The cannon can be
targeted and destroyed like the sub, at any time, though it is, of course,
not particularly in the interest of players who aren't your immediate
neighbors to do so.

There are a few other special cards of note. A Smart Bomb card may be played
from your hand before you spin for the result of a 10- or 20-meg warhead to
double the killing power (before the spinner). There are a few more spies
and another saboteur. The Guardian Angel card can counteract any secret
played against you, and is a welcome addition. The Space Shuttle can be used
to reload the Space Platform, or to carry a single 50-meg (or smaller)
warhead. There are a few others I can't remember offhand.

The game comes with a set of thirteen (auspicious number) new mats, each of
which has a special ability printed on it. For example, Little Bittyland
can, on his turn, declare peace by discarding three propaganda cards from
his hand. Everyone can rearrange their face-down cards; he replaces the
propaganda cards, and it is still his turn. Other abilities tend to be
somewhat less meddlesome, but all seem reasonable. You can, of course, play
without them if desired.

The components are of similar quality to the previous sets. The cards are
backed identically to those in Nuke War and Nuke Esc, though if you have
older versions of the former two, the shiny new Prolif cards will be
identifiable from the backs for a little while. There are more population
cards, though these are probably not necessary; they are printed on light
card, and are not perforated or scored. I'm told that this is the way all
population cards in the suite are distributed now, but I bought my sets back
when the population cards were pre-cut, so I didn't bother cutting out the
new cards; it hasn't mattered a bit. There is also a radioactive fallout
die, though mine does not glow in the dark (the die I got with Nuke Esc
does). The style of art has changed again: the cards are in combinations of
black, blue, and an orangey-red, making them easy to identify, but not as
aesthetically appealing as the full-color Nuke Esc cards. The art is often
amusing, though, and the simple color scheme does nothing to detract from
the game.

All in all, a welcome addition to the Nuclear Destruction suite. Highly
recommended for fans of the originals, which are highly recommended to
anyone with a sense of humor and some time to kill. Not a highly
intellectual game, but a good way to spend half an hour with friends.
-- 
Josh Smith, User Support Coordinator  ::  irilyth@fenris.claremont.edu
Harvey Mudd College, Claremont CA     ::  consult(std-disclaimer.pl).
"Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why
several of us died of tuberculosis." -Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts