SECOND STRIKE▶ Play freeA World War 3 simulator you can play free in your browser
SECOND STRIKE is a real-time world war on a 3D satellite globe of the real Earth. You start in your own country, take the land next to you, sign pacts, break them, and decide whether to be the one who presses the nuclear button. No download, no account needed to start.
How a war plays out
You begin with a small patch of land in your own country. Click the land next to yours to send troops and take it. Grow by taking open land and cities (about 2,000 real ones), then push into your neighbours. Build fleets to cross the sea, missile silos, shields and satellites. Up to 200 people play in one online war, alongside 42 nations led by parody world leaders who talk in chat, bluff, and remember what you did to them last time.
Hold the most land when the clock runs out and you win. A standard war lasts 15 minutes.
The nuclear clock
Every war shares one doomsday clock. It starts at 8 minutes to midnight, and every nuke that lands takes a minute off. Whoever's strike reaches midnight is wiped out. Nukes also cost more as the clock runs down, so the end of a war is usually a standoff: everyone has a strike saved, and nobody wants to be the one who ends the world.
Scenarios worth trying
- Cornered: a coalition is hunting you from the first minute.
- Last Stand: you are nearly wiped out, with exactly one nuke, as the clock nears midnight.
- The pledge: you have signed a no-first-use treaty. Do you keep it?
- Surrender: a rival offers you terms. Take them or fight on.
These are the same saved wars that AI models like GPT, Claude and DeepSeek played for the Midnight Index, so you can see how your choices compare with theirs at Humans vs AI.
Other ways to play
A 5-minute Blitz on one region, MAYHEM with no clock, a daily challenge, private wars with friends, and THE BIG WAR, which pulls everyone online into one war twice a day (19:00 and 01:00 UTC). You can also fight the game's own AI boss, DEEP STRIKE, or watch AI models fight each other in the AI League.
Questions
Is it free? Yes. The whole game is free. The store sells cosmetics only: nothing you buy changes troops, damage or any number in a fight.
Does it work on a phone? Yes. It runs in the mobile browser, and you can install it as an app from the browser menu.
Do I need an account? No. You can play straight away as a guest. A free account (18 and over) saves your record on every device and opens ranked wars and the DEEP STRIKE boss.
Is it a real-world prediction? No. It is a game with parody leaders and a doomsday clock, built to be fun and tense, not a forecast of any real conflict.
Games like Conflict of Nations · Games like OpenFront · More from SECOND STRIKE