v0.9.3 – Official rulebook (2026-05-20)

Focus: Aligns with the published NUKES rulebook v0.9.3 on Moddable.Games.

Movement

• Artillery: May jump over enemy infantry and enemy artillery; cannot jump enemy airborne or enemy bases.
• Airborne: May pass over enemy airborne and enemy bases; blocked by enemy infantry and artillery. May pass through empty biohazards.
• Nuke paths: May jump own units or enemy infantry only (not enemy artillery, airborne, or bases).

Economy & nukes

• Setup: 4 units on board + 1 starting isotope (no free nuke in inventory).
• Harvest removed: Nukes launch from a base using isotopes from supply; convert 1 unit → 1 isotope when you add units to your own base (5+ after merge).
• Hostage returns: Bolstering an opponent’s base does not grant them isotope conversion (FAQ).

Earlier HTML-edition features (Meltdown, Total Annihilation, optional moves, biohazard routing) remain in effect — see v0.9.2-html.

v0.9.2-html – HTML rulebook alignment (2026-05-20)

Focus: Aligns the app with the expanded web rulebook (Meltdown, Total Annihilation, optional moves, biohazard routing). Superseded for canonical links by v0.9.3 on rules.moddable.games.

• Total Annihilation: Zero board units → immediate elimination (hostages removed everywhere).
• Meltdown: Hostage return to a 9-unit region biohazards that hex only; earns a move.
• Optional moves: Up to one move per hostage returned; fewer moves allowed.
• Biohazards: Artillery/nukes may route through empty biohazards; nukes may strike biohazard hexes; platoons still cannot end on biohazards.
• Phase 3: End-turn summary labels terrain cleanup as end-of-turn resolution.

v0.9.2 – Transit combat (2026-04-14)

Focus: Official v0.9.2 clarification on cities: combat strength from passing through or over bases/cities now implemented; your starting city does not add that transit bonus when you begin the attack there.

• Shared module js/combatTransit.js (browser + Node) for infantry, artillery, and airborne paths.
• Server move validation matches client combat strength (including transit).

v0.9.1 – Rulebook Update (2026-03-01)

Focus: Updated to the v0.9.1 official Nukes rulebook: tighter platoon restrictions, no HQ/General, cleaner combat and harvest rules.

Player count & board

• 2–3 players only (removed 4–6).
• Fixed 37-hex, 3-ring board.
• 4 units at start; 20 hostages total.

General / HQ removed

• No General; 1 unit on a base is shown as Infantry.
• Nukes launch from any base with 4+ units and an isotope.
• Launching a nuke removes 1 unit from the base.

Combat & terrain

• Removed terrain bonuses (Forest/Mountain, Field/Desert).
• Cities now count for defender support even with <4 units.

Platoon restrictions

• Infantry cannot pass through Infantry or Artillery (any player).
• Artillery can only jump over your own units.
• Airborne can only pass through your own units.
• Nukes can only jump over your own units.

Victory & other changes

• Removed “capture all Nukes” as a win condition.
• Harvest allowed from any base, including the starting city.
• Added in-game Rules Reference panel for platoon/biome tables.

v0.3.0 – v0.7.1 Official Rulebook (2025-11-04)

Focus: Implements the major changes from the v0.7.1 rulebook – terrain-based combat bonuses, tightened movement, and biohazards.

Combat system

• Added terrain bonuses:
  • Forest/Mountain: defender +1 strength.
  • Field/Desert: attacker +1 strength.
• Defender base support now only comes from bases (4+ units).
• UI shows detailed strength breakdown in combat prompts.

Movement

• Infantry: move freely within same biome, then 1 step into a different biome; cannot end alone in water or desert; own Airborne/Bases act as biome bridges.
• Artillery: explicit “cannot end alone in water”; cannot end on biohazards (see v0.9.2-html for step-through routing).
• Airborne: cannot pass through or end on mountains; can pass through, but not end on, biohazards.

Biohazards & destruction

• Regions with >9 units are destroyed and become biohazards.
• Added `destroyed_regions` table and API for destroyed regions.
• v0.7.1: Infantry/Artillery/Nukes could not pass through biohazards; Airborne pass only. Updated in v0.9.2-html.

Invalid placement cleanup

• 1 unit alone in water or desert → destroyed at turn end.
• 2 units alone in water → destroyed.
• 3 units alone in mountain → destroyed.

v0.2.1 – Staging System & Setup (2025-10-30)

Focus: Adds turn staging on the client and refines starting token/hostage distribution.

Turn staging

• Active-turn staging for hostage returns and movement.
• “Confirm Turn” applies all staged actions in order.
• Shortcuts: Z undo last action, X clear all staged actions.

Setup & hostages

• Token distribution based on players and board size (rings).
• Hostages per opponent and total tokens now follow a table.
• First player’s first turn: must return a hostage if possible.

v0.2.0 – v0.6.2 Official Rulebook (2025-10-13)

Focus: Complete overhaul to match the v0.6.2 official Nukes rulebook.

Combat

• Replaced unit-specific capture rules with a strength-based system:
  • Attacker strength = moving units + adjacent friendly regions.
  • Defender strength = units in target region.
  • Attack only allowed if attacker strength > defender strength.
  • Excess strength can be spent to capture hostages by sacrificing attackers.

Movement

• Reworked Infantry, Artillery, and Airborne movement to match v0.6.2.
• Added slingshot mechanic for Airborne (chainable jumps).
• Introduced tighter restrictions on movement paths and blocking.

Elimination & limits

• Player elimination when you have no hostages to return (with a first-turn exception).
• 10+ units in a single region destroys that region.
• Max 9 units per region enforced in placement and movement.

v0.1.0-alpha – Initial Alpha Release (2025-10-11)

Focus: First playable version of Nukes.

Core gameplay

• Multiplayer hex-based map with 2–6 players.
• Two-phase turn structure: Hostage Return → Movement.
• Five biome types: Water, Fields, Forests, Mountains, Deserts.
• Real-time sync via WebSocket and session persistence.

Units & combat

• Infantry, Artillery, Airborne, Base, General, and Nukes as token stacks.
• Original combat rules with support and terrain-based restrictions.
• Terrain validation and basic destruction rules at turn end.