How to play LastLaunch.io
A 12-minute multiplayer game of nuclear poker for your browser. Nine nations, one clock ticking toward midnight, and every missile forces a decision. You win by keeping your people alive, not by destroying the most.
The goal
At exactly 12:00 the match ends. The nation with the highest percentage of its starting population still alive wins, and everyone is ranked the same way. You don't need to eliminate anyone, and because the score is a percentage, small nations compete on equal terms with big ones.
A match, minute by minute
| Phase | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Cold War | 0:00–1:30 | No launches. Build defences, place silos, propose alliances. |
| DEFCON 2 | 1:30–8:00 | Launches unlocked. Normal production. |
| DEFCON 1 | 8:00–11:00 | Income doubles and missile flight times are 25% shorter. |
| Nuclear winter | 11:00–12:00 | Every city loses 5% of its people every 10 seconds (half with a bunker). |
| Midnight | 12:00 | The match ends and the standings freeze. |
Controls
- Pick a nation on the map or in the list, choose a callsign, and press Deploy.
- Tap or click one of your cities to build there, load missiles, or evacuate it.
- Launch: choose a loaded silo, submarine or bomber, then tap an enemy city. The flight time is shown before you commit.
- Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom. On desktop, Enter opens chat, M mutes, Esc cancels aiming.
- Click a nation on the scoreboard to propose or answer an alliance.
Building your arsenal and defences
| Unit | Cost | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Silo | 300 | Holds 2 ICBMs. Hidden from enemies until it fires; then revealed for 60 seconds. |
| ICBM | 150 | Loaded into a silo or submarine. 15–40 seconds of flight, depending on distance. |
| Submarine | 500 | Fires from the sea with short flight times. Revealed for 20 seconds after firing. |
| Bomber | 120 | Slow and visible to everyone, but it can be recalled. |
| Interceptor battery | 250 | Three charges that recharge over time; protects your cities within 1,500 km. |
| Radar | 200 | Spots enemy missiles from the moment of launch instead of halfway through their flight. |
| Bunker | 150 | Cuts casualties in its city by 35% and halves nuclear-winter losses there. |
When missiles are incoming
The Incoming panel shows every detected threat with a countdown and your odds. Your responses share a small Emergency Command budget (4 points, refilling one every 25 seconds), so you can't do everything at once:
- Intercept (1 command): fire a battery charge. Base odds are 50%, improved by radar tracking, firing early and extra batteries in range, up to 75%.
- Evacuate (2 command): halves the casualties in that city for 45 seconds, but it produces no income meanwhile.
- Retaliate (free): fire the silo in the threatened city before it is lost.
If three or more nations are hitting you at once, your interceptors get a bonus. And if an enemy strike knocks you below 25% of your people, your Dead Hand fires every loaded silo back at them, once per match.
Alliances
Alliances hold up to three nations. Allies share radar and can't strike each other, and missiles already in flight between new allies self-destruct. Victory is still solo, so every alliance ends eventually: whoever breaks one must wait 20 seconds before attacking their former allies.
The nine nations
| Nation | Strength | Weakness |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Radar range ×1.5 | Eight cities to defend |
| Russia | Four extra ICBMs at the start | Income ×0.95 |
| China | Everything costs 20% less | Starts without a submarine |
| United Kingdom | Cheap submarines, revealed for only 5 seconds after firing | One silo slot; income ×0.95 |
| France | When hit, the next launch is free and 25% faster | None |
| India | Free bunkers | Interceptor odds −5 points |
| Pakistan | Short-range missile flights 30% shorter | Income ×0.85 |
| Israel | Interceptor odds +20 points | Only four cities |
| North Korea | Launches are detected late | Income ×0.7 |
Tips
- Spend the Cold War on radar and interceptors covering your biggest cities. Hits cost more there.
- Firing reveals your silo for a minute. Expect an answer, and keep an interceptor near your silos.
- Save command points for the big threats. Two cheap intercepts can be worth more than one evacuation.
- Striking boosts your income for 30 seconds, so a well-timed launch pays for itself.
- Build bunkers before 11:00. Nuclear winter hits every city, and bunkers halve the loss.
- If you're leading late, defend rather than attack: the clock is on your side.
FAQ
- Is LastLaunch.io free?
- Yes. It runs in any modern browser on desktop and mobile, with no download and no account.
- How long is a match?
- Twelve minutes, from the first Cold War moves to midnight.
- How many players are in a match?
- Nine nations, one per seat. Press Deploy and the match begins as soon as all nine seats are filled, usually within 20–30 seconds.
- What happens if I lose connection?
- Your nation keeps playing while you're away, and you can rejoin the match by reloading the page within two minutes.