Nuclear War is a card game. It’s also one of the worst possible catastrophes that could ever happen to our planet. This article has nothing to do with the fact that humanity is unstable enough to even conceive of the idea of Nuclear War. Okay, so maybe it does, but only a little bit, with tongue firmly implanted in cheek.
This article is about the various releases of the game and its expansions. Nuclear War has been in publication since 1965. Flying Buffalo Incorporated (henceforth FBI) contracted with the game’s creator and made it available for mass release. The Fiftieth-Anniversary edition has an entire article with information regarding that in the rulebook. I recommend you get one.
With all the history behind us, let’s move forward into the various releases and expansions.
The following image was originally produced on the FBI website, showing the variations between the first edition of the game through the fourth.
Nuclear War Third Edition
Photographed here is the small boxed set from 1980.
The third edition originally started with a small box set in 1980. These cards would maintain the same artwork and style through 2001, when the base game would see its first major renovation.
Nuclear War Fourth Edition
In 2001, Nuclear War was redesigned to reflect a visual style similar to the Nuclear War Booster Pack expansion from the mid-1990s. That style, with a bit of tweaking, has been pretty much consistent through to the modern day.
Nuclear Escalation First Edition
FBI’s first original Nuclear War expansion is Nuclear Escalation. It is also their first full-color release. This expansion introduced the concepts of spies and special cards.
Nuclear Escalation Second Edition
In 2005, Nuclear Escalation was redesigned to bring it in line with the fourth edition of Nuclear War.
Nuclear Proliferation First Edition
A decade on the heels of nuclear escalation came Nuclear Proliferation. This was a red, black, and blue set of cards just in time for the first Iraq War. Yes, I realize the intent was red, white, and blue, but the paper is white, and the ink used was red, black, and blue. Later reprints of this edition were also in orange rather than red.
This expansion included countries for the players to choose from. This was interesting because country selection was supposed to be random. Except all of the countries originally came with a unique color of paper for each. Eventually, in subsequent printings, all of the countries were photocopied onto white paper.
Nuclear Proliferation Second Edition
In 2001, this expansion was redesigned at the same time as the fourth edition of Nuclear War.
Nuclear War Booster First Edition
With the success of Nuclear Proliferation and Magic: The Gathering, FBI jumped on the collector card game bandwagon with every other game manufacturer of the mid-nineties and produced the Nuclear War Booster Packs. These were eight-card packs for $2 USD. More expensive than Magic: The Gathering at the time.
This set was intended to be a supplement to the Nuclear War card game and any of its expansions. They were used by replacing cards from the main game with a corresponding card type on a 1-for-1 basis. Only one delivery system was printed in the set.
For years, complete sets and singles could be purchased directly from FBI via the website or at conventions. Eventually, FBI determined that most people either lost or wanted the UFO Technology and 200-Megaton Warhead cards, so naturally they were redesigned and made available through the website and at conventions.
Nuclear War Booster Second Edition
In 2025, Mr. B Games, the new license holder, re-released a version of the Nuclear War Booster Pack cards in their Nuclear Destruction Kickstarter. These cards were the stretch goals for that Kickstarter. The current edition of the Nuclear Destruction game comes with a booster pack of fifty-eight cards in the box.
Weapons of Mass Destruction First Edition
In 2004 FBI followed up the United States’ Invasion of Iraq Part Two with Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). This version of the game introduced a dice-less system for play. I think it was one of the best ideas they came up with, being that I am not a fan of the spinner, nor using the specialized dice that FBI kept having difficulty procuring.
This was a standalone set, sold in a small box with only two decks of cards. There were two print runs of this expansion. First printed in 2004, the second was financed through a Kickstarter for the Fortieth-Anniversary Edition of the game. The 2016 release corrected typographical errors from the 2004 print.
Weapons of Mass Destruction Second Edition
The second edition of WMD was financed through the Nuclear Destruction Kickstarter by Mr. B Games. The cards were adjusted to reflect the Nuclear Destruction rule set and to remove most of the gender terminology. Some cards changed in functionality. I have noted them in the visual reference.
Nuclear War Fortieth-Anniversary Release
The Fortieth-Anniversary release of Nuclear War was a collector’s edition of one thousand units. It was a Kickstarter release. It came in a small tin box and was very reminiscent of the original release, but with the modern cards.
I do not own a copy, so it is not covered in this visual reference, other than as a photograph of the box provided by FBI on their old website.
Nuclear War Fiftieth-Anniversary Edition
The Fiftieth-Anniversary release was also a Kickstarter in 2015. It is intended for up to 8 players. It has all of the cards from the fourth edition plus one. Possibly my most favorite card ever, Antivaxers. This is the only edition so far in which that card appears. I bought it for that card.
Nuclear Nuclear Destruction Edition
Sadly, FBI closed up shop after the death of the owner in 2019. Their game holdings have been transferred between multiple vendors. The Nuclear War assets and license landed at Mr. B Games. This is essentially a fifth edition due to rule changes and additions to the game.
In 2024, a Kickstarter was initiated for Nuclear Destruction. According to the Kickstarter, it was “built on the foundation of Weapons of Mass Destruction“. “Its full-color cards are compatible with EVERY version of Nuclear War. It is designed as a stand-alone installment or to be combined with the 50th Anniversary edition for even more fun!“. Keep that in mind; it is important.
The result was Nuclear Destruction, released in late 2025, adding 49 cards to the game. These were combined with the Weapons of Mass Destruction cards and all listed under Nuclear Destruction. Of those 49 cards, 18 were propaganda and warheads. A total of 26 unique cards were developed for Nuclear Destruction. While assembling these visual references, I separated the Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Booster set from Nuclear Destruction to determine the actual Nuclear Destruction expansion.
Nuclear War Advertising & Other Cards
During FBI’s, stewardship of the Nuclear War license, there were lots of in-box advertisements. Sometimes it was cards, sometimes bumper stickers, sometimes postcards. This is a visual reference for the ancillary cards found in the boxes for Nuclear War and its expansions.
Nuclear War: The Bumper Stickers
I included as many of the Bumper Stickers as I could find. 2 of them I had to recreate from scratch using visual references only, as I had never seen them in the wild.
Nuclear War Promotional Cards
FBI also released numerous promotional cards that could be purchased only at conventions or through the website. The unfortunate part was that most of us did not live near the conventions, so we could never acquire them without paying a fortune to scalpers.
Posted on 7/4/26, what better way to celebrate a national holiday that includes rockets, guns, and explosions than with Nuclear War?
– Dru
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