NukeZone

NukeZone is a wargame played on the Internet with a web browser. It is a text-based real-time strategy game with many variables. NukeZone was the winner of the Multiplayer Online Game Directory's game of the month award in June 2002, November 2005 and February 2008, an award that can only be won once yearly per game.

History
NukeZone was started in 2001, by Swede Stefan Karlström (nicknamed Guffy). The game, particularly in its early incarnations in regards to available military units, was highly influenced by the 1996 bestseller Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Despite common perceptions, Stefan is quick to point out that NukeZone was never a school project. Since its creation, it has grown quickly, starting with a meagre few thousand members in 2002 to 35,000 members in 2006. Each round of the game is about three months long, game changes are usually introduced in the pause between rounds, a pause which varies from one to four weeks.

Gameplay
Each player gets their own "province" once they register for the game. Once registered they will choose a starting bonus out of a choice of four to begin the game. New provinces are in nuke protection for 48 hours. During nuke protection players cannot make attacks or be attacked. Nuke protection is also used for all players at the beginning of each round and for players who have died and will have to restart.

To maintain the balance of the game each player is given three turns every hour, which they use to perform in game actions such as attacking provinces and buying units.

Units
There are many units available in NukeZone, which add to the logistical value of the game. Units are divided into categories of sea, air, vehicle, and infantry, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Out of the number of units, there are some which are used for specific strategies, like the "building-killing" units B-2 Stealth Bomber and the Heavy Artillery. Building killers attack only buildings and have a large advantage in clan wars for killing provinces. There are also "unit-killing" units, which make up the large majority of units. These are used normally in combination with other units and are efficient in earning "points" for most point-focused clans. There are other units as well such as the Aurora Spy Plane, which spy on enemy buildings, being particularly useful when seeing what defense buildings a province has if you plan to attack them. Thieves are used for stealing money from provinces, which is another highly used tactical strategy. Efficiency in thieving comes through many strategies, much of which comes through sheer experience.

Satellites and missiles are not actual units, but they can also be used for attacking, however they both require research.

Buildings
There are a total of fifteen buildings in the game, a small number but each participate in their respective purpose. The defense buildings, making up a third of the buildings, are another integral part to maintaining a province. These are used mostly when one does not have the required unit to defend against a specific group of units. A fourth of the buildings (Shipyards, Airfields, War Factories, and Barracks) are devoted to producing units. Without these you cannot purchase the specific group of unit you want. Power Plant and Advanced Power Plants are used to supply other buildings with power. If a province has 100% power usage or above, which comes through lack of power plants, the player will not be able to build or fire satellites and nukes, nor send Thieves, Spies, or Snipers. As well, your defense buildings will become de facto null and void of warding off enemy attacks. Research labs are used for increasing research capabilities. Command Centres are used to build the special units, which are Spy Planes, Spies, Thieves and Snipers. Lastly, the Missile Silo is used to house missiles.

Research
Research is a fundamental part of NukeZone gameplay, being primarily used to increase your province's abilities in warfare and province stability. Sciences are the form of currency in NukeZone which increase the productivity of research, based on your turns. Every fifty research labs equals one science per turn, up to a maximum of 25 sciences per turn.

Clans
Provinces are able to join a clan of up to 20 members. Clans normally choose to play for either points or networth, as there are top lists (top 100) for both. (There is also a list for individual provinces' networth and for Combo Points.) It is difficult to play NukeZone successfully without being part of a clan, as clans are one of the most integral aspects to the game. Without a clan you are on your own in fending off attacks and whatnot, however some do prefer that way of playing. As well, when you are in a clan you can receive monetary aid from members. There is a Clan Leader (CL) in every clan, and the CL has the option to choose five Clan Trustees (CT) in the clan if he sees fit. These five CTs normally help the clan leader in tasks of handling a certain part of the clan, such as recruiting and declaring wars. An incentive to buy a Platinum Clan is introduced in the form of a "sixth" CT, called the CO who is essentially second in command.

A motivation in Nukezone for clans to war for points is the clan bonus system. This is set up so that when a clan gains 10,000 in points, they will receive a substantial reward of 300 turns for each province and $25,000,000 to be equally distributed amongst the clan members. For every 10,000 points after they will receive another bonus. And after every 50,000 points gained, you receive a Super bonus, that's 450 turns for every clan member, and $37,500,000 to be equally distributed amongst the clan members. To gain points, an army is created and raised. Clans make strategic decisions what units to use to war with; Unit Killing units earn the best points while there is no guarantee of a "target" whereas Building Killing units earn less points with an absolute chance of a target. Points are scored for an attack, between 1 and 20, earning more for more NetWorth damage caused to your foe.

Community points system
The community points system was implemented on September 10th, 2006. It rewards users by giving them points for being frequent in the forums, and supporting Nukezone whether it be through donations, or buying gold users or platinum clans.