ColecoVision · 1984
WarGames
A 1984 ColecoVision strategy game that turns the film's NORAD scene into a defensive nuclear-defense puzzle.
- Publisher
- Publisher to verify
- Format
- Cartridge
- Genre
- Genre to verify
- Released
- 1984
01
Overview
WarGames places you in command of NORAD's defense network against a simulated nuclear attack on the United States. Six sectors of the mainland each contain cities and bases, and you direct interceptor missiles, aircraft, submarines, and an orbital satellite to intercept incoming bombers, subs, and missiles. The objective is not to win a war but to hold the line long enough for a cease-fire, with an automated counterstrike ending the game if the defense collapses.
02
Why it matters
It is one of the few video games that treats nuclear war as something to avoid rather than pursue, capturing the film's central tension in interactive form. As a 1984 entry in the ColecoVision library, it shows how licensed movie properties were adapted into console strategy titles during the mid-1980s.
03
The physical edition
A typical complete North American copy includes a cartridge, instruction manual, and printed box; some editions also shipped with a controller keypad overlay and a map or booklet. European and other regional editions were often sold by CBS Toys, so packaging and included inserts can differ from the U.S. release.
04
Playing it today
It runs on an original ColecoVision or on compatible systems such as the ADAM and Phoenix VGS, and it is available in several emulators. A standard controller works, but a keypad overlay (or keypad-capable controller) makes the sector-switching commands much more comfortable.