thumb|right|Cover art by Tony Roberts
Apocalypse: The Game of Nuclear Devastation is a board game of nuclear war released by Games Workshop in 1980. It is based on The Warlord, a game designed and self-published by Mike Hayes in 1974.
Description
Apocalypse is a game of conquest for 2–4 players similar to Risk, albeit with nuclear weapons. The game map covers Western Europe. Players vie to conquer the entire map, the last one standing being declared the winner. Hayes republished the game in 1978 in a blue box.
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). This revised game was released as Apocalypse: The Game of Nuclear Devastation with cover art by Tony Roberts. (The cover art had been used three years previously on the cover of the Orbit/Futura paperback edition of Jerry Pournelle's science fiction novel The Mercenary.)
After Apocalypse went out of print, Mike Hayes reacquired the rights and republished his full original game, retitled Classic Warlord, in 2012.
Reception
David Ladyman reviewed Apocalypse in The Space Gamer No. 39. Ladyman commented that "The graphics and component design are up to Games Workshop's usual high standard. The rules are short and clear. I would consider recommending Apocalypse if an equivalent game wasn't on the market at a cheaper price. Risk, as I said above, is very similar".
In Issue 33 of Phoenix, John Lambshead was impressed by the dramatic box cover art by Tony Roberts. He also gave "full marks to whoever wrote the rules. They are simple but comprehensive and written in the English language." He found the game didn't work well with 2 players, but thought it came into its own with 4 players. 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."
Other reviews
- Casus Belli (Issue 16 - Aug 1983)