Nuclear:

Learn how to unlock and use devastating Nuclear Weapons in Civilization VII. Understand radioactive fallout, targeting rules, and strategic uses in the late game.

So, you've made it to the endgame and are looking at the big red button – nukes! These are your ultimate late-game trump cards, officially called Nuclear Weapons, but everyone just calls them nukes. They're weapons of mass destruction that can absolutely annihilate a target tile and all six tiles surrounding it. Think of it as a 7-tile crater of pure devastation. You'll only get access to these bad boys after you've researched Nuclear Fission and then completed the Manhattan Project wonder. Once that's done, you'll get your first nuke and unlock the Produce Nuclear Weapon project, which lets you build more. ## Mechanics When you launch a nuke, it's not just the target tile that gets wiped out. Everything on those seven tiles – units, buildings, tile improvements, even Wonders – is gone. And it gets worse. ### Radioactive Fallout After the boom, the affected tiles will be covered in a green fog for 10 turns. This is radioactive fallout. While it's active, you can't repair buildings or build anything new on those tiles. Even worse, any unit that ends its turn on a fallout tile (except the Great Banker, for some reason) takes 50 Damage per turn. So, don't plan on moving your troops through a nuked area right away! ### Availability and Usage As mentioned, you need the Manhattan Project wonder to start. After that, you can produce more nukes using the Produce Nuclear Weapon project. To actually use a nuke, you'll need an Aircraft Commander with a bomber unit. Then, you'll use the WMD Strike action. Here's where you can drop them: * Enemy territory * Your own territory * Neutral tiles (but ONLY if there are no buildings, improvements, or military units there). Heads up: You can't just nuke neutral infrastructure or military units. You'll have to declare War first. However, if you see a lone Civilian Unit chilling on a neutral tile, you *can* target that without any diplomatic fallout... if you're into that sort of thing. ## Strategy Honestly, nukes are super expensive and come so late in the game that most people have already won or lost by the time they're available. Usually, if you've got nukes, the game is already decided. But, if you're in a super tight endgame race, nukes can be game-changers. They're perfect for disrupting opponents who are about to snag a Victory. For example: * Military Victory: If an opponent is building up for a Military Victory and is working on a key project like Operation Ivy, a well-placed nuke can destroy their high-Production tiles and critical Buildings, setting them back significantly.