Synopsis

Teen computer enthusiast David Lightman accidentally gains access to a military supercomputer while searching for new video games. Believing he has connected to a game developer, David starts a simulation of Global Thermonuclear War. The computer treats the exercise as real, placing the United States on the brink of nuclear conflict. With time running out, David must convince military officials that the system is playing for keeps.

Factoids & Trivia

• The screenplay was originally developed under the title "The Genius." The writers later reshaped the story around the emerging culture of home computers, arcade games, and unauthorized phone-system access.

• Writers Lawrence Lasker and Walter Parkes drew on real Cold War launch scares, including a 1979 incident in which a training simulation was mistakenly fed into the US warning network.

• The production filmed in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Culver City between August 9 and November 11, 1982. Seattle locations helped give the film's opening computer-age world a recognizable Pacific Northwest setting.

• The elaborate NORAD command center was a purpose-built movie set rather than a reproduction of the actual facility. The production was not permitted to film inside the real command center, so the design presented a heightened, futuristic version of military technology.

• The film's military procedures and chain of command are intentionally dramatic rather than strictly accurate. Contemporary Air Force criticism focused on the way the story combined functions associated with NORAD, the Strategic Air Command, and other military branches.

• To prepare for the arcade sequence, Matthew Broderick reportedly practiced for two months. The production supplied Galaxian and Galaga arcade machines for him to use at home.

• WarGames became one of the defining computer thrillers of the 1980s. Its success helped bring hacking, home computing, and the dangers of automated warfare into mainstream popular culture.