Is the tornado simulator free?

Yes. Apocalypse Sandbox is free to play, with no download and no account.

Does it work on a phone?

Yes. Chase Mode and Control Tornado use one floating joystick on a touch screen, and the panel opens as a sheet that scrolls.

Can I start a tornado straight away?

Yes. The Storm tile among the disasters brings it down at once; otherwise it arrives by itself a few seconds into a game.

It is a sandbox, not a scientific model: the tornadoes are built to look dramatic and to react to a living town, not to predict real weather.

Guides

A free tornado simulator you play in your browser

By Nuică Roger

Apocalypse Sandbox is a free 3D disaster game that runs in your browser. Its centrepiece is the tornado: a funnel that pulls loose things in, lifts and spins them, and flings them out over a life-size town full of people, cars and buildings. There is nothing to install and no account to make. Open the page, wait for the town to build, and the storm is already counting down.

Play Apocalypse Sandbox, free →

Free in your browser, no download. Best on a laptop; it works on a phone too.

What the tornado does

The funnel drags in whatever is loose. Trees are uprooted, cars tip over and fly, and buildings shed roofs and walls before collapsing, sometimes in a chain reaction. After an opening wander the storm hunts survivors, so the town reacts to it: people run for shelters, pair up and flee, fire engines, ambulances and evacuation buses work through the damage.

Fallen power lines can charge the storm with EMP discharges, and two funnels can orbit one another and merge (the Fujiwhara effect) into a bigger multi-vortex.

Tornado types to try

Storm: the classic funnel, brought down at once with the Storm tile.
Firenado: the tornado burning. It leaves burning ground behind and kills the aliens it reaches.
Electric tornado: a charged funnel with lightning.
Blizzard: the ice tornado, which freezes water, lava and anything living.
Fujiwhara: two funnels that merge.
Final Boss: a huge wedge tornado for the end of the world.

Control the funnel or run from it

Control Tornado lets you steer the funnel yourself, and Tornado View orbits a camera around it. In Chase Mode you drive a car and flee the storm, with a single floating joystick on a phone: push up for gas, down for reverse and sideways to steer. You can also tune the storm with presets and sliders while a tornado exists.

Score, combos and slow motion

Destruction earns points, big set pieces earn bonuses, and a quick chain of destruction builds a combo. Heavy events bring slow motion and a camera shake that follows what happened and how close it was.

Frequently asked questions

Is the tornado simulator free?: Yes. Apocalypse Sandbox is free to play, with no download and no account.
Does it work on a phone?: Yes. Chase Mode and Control Tornado use one floating joystick on a touch screen, and the panel opens as a sheet that scrolls.
Can I start a tornado straight away?: Yes. The Storm tile among the disasters brings it down at once; otherwise it arrives by itself a few seconds into a game.
Is it realistic?: It is a sandbox, not a scientific model: the tornadoes are built to look dramatic and to react to a living town, not to predict real weather.