Work the ring
Compete for control of ten phone exchanges. The switchboard shows the network and who holds each part of it.
NetBBS / Door games / War Dialer
Asynchronous multiplayer strategyWar Dialer
Ten exchanges. Rival crews. One shared scene.
Available · bundled with NetBBS- Play
- Asynchronous multiplayer
- Progress
- One shared seasonal world
- Availability
- Bundled with NetBBS
ATZ OK press any key ATDT 555-0142 carriers 10 CONNECT 14400 · none B busy V voice F fax ◆ carrier Rival crews. Ten exchanges. One scene. 01 02 03 04 ╭─────────●──────────●─────────●──────────●─────────╮ │ │ │ │ 10 ○ ◆ SEASON 3 ◆ ○ 05 │ │ │ │ ╰─────────●──────────●─────────●──────────●─────────╯ 09 08 07 06 node › Harbor Lights · handle › nova
War Dialer — launch splash
The game’s own launch screen, captured at 80 × 24.
The game
Ten exchanges. Rival crews. One shared scene.
War Dialer turns the dial-up underground into a shared strategy game. Every caller plays in the same world, but rivals do not have to be online together. Your next visit is a chance to build the crew, work the network and see what changed while you were away. Its screens glow like the phosphor monitors of the era, and from 100 columns up they spread out to fill a wide terminal.
Build your crew
Take contract jobs, earn cash and rank, and weigh your odds before making a move. Raids and the risk of a bust keep success from being comfortable.
Play the season
Your crew lives in a world shared with the other callers. Seasons give the competition a finish line and medals a place in its history.
At the keyboard
Inside War Dialer
Lead a crew through a fictional BBS network. Compete with other callers for ten phone exchanges, take contracts and build your standing across a season.
╭─ SWITCHBOARD ──────────────────────────────────────────────── page 1/2 ─╮ │ Thiesi ⟦[::]⟧ ⟦WANNABE⟧ season 2 · 28d 0h 0m left │ │ rank 100 ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ new tier next Script Kiddie │ ├───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ CASH $175 HEAT ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 20 │ │ CREW ●○○ 1 free 2 posted │ │ TURNS ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▯▯ 13/15 refill 1d 0h 0m │ │ HOLD ●●○○○○○○○○ 2/10 income $5/hr │ │ SHIELD newcomer 2d 0h 0m NEW 0 │ │ OPS none KIT untrained / empty │ ├─ THE SCENE ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Uptown Sunset Loop Bay Hill Co… │ │ ╭──◆01────────────◇02────────────◈03────────────◆04────────────◉05──╮ │ │ ║ ◆ yours 2 ◈ rival 1 ◉ NPC 3 ◇ free 4 ║ │ │ ╰──◇10────────────◇09────────────◇08────────────◉07────────────◉06──╯ │ │ Rain City Gulf Peachtree Neon Harbor │ ├─ FEED ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ ● 20:49 Rooted 415-555 Bay Exchange; garrison now 1. │ │ ● 20:49 Rooted 212-555 Uptown Exchange; garrison now 1. │ │ ● 20:49 Rooted 212-555 Uptown Exchange; +$2/hour and +50 Rank. │ ╰───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯ [T] Trade [C] Crew [J] Job [R] Raid [X] Root [G] Gar [S] Kit [O] Ops [B] Rank [E] Map [V] Rival [H] Log [I] Scene [?] Help [Q] Quit [N] Next [P] Prev dial ›
War Dialer — The switchboard
The ten-exchange ring, with territory already taken and a crew that has started to make its mark.
╭─ THE SCENE ──────────────────────────────────────────────── yours 2/10 ─╮ │ ◆ 1══◇ 2══◈ 3══◆ 4══◉ 5 ◆ yours 2 ◈ rival 1 ◉ NPC 3 ◇ free 4 │ │ ║ ║ │ │ ◇10══◇ 9══◇ 8══◉ 7══◉ 6 │ │ yield ▅▅▅ ▁▅ ▅▁▅ $20/hr │ ├─ TEN EXCHANGES ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ EXCHANGE OWNER DEFENCE INCOME TAKE ACTION │ │ [1] ◆ Uptown Thiesi ●○○○ 3 $2/hr - garrison │ │ [2] ◇ Sunset unclaimed ○○○○ 0 $2/hr 100% root │ │ [3] ◈ Loop Kilobaud ●●●○ 5 $2/hr 17% root │ │ [4] ◆ Bay Thiesi ●○○○ 1 $3/hr - garrison │ │ [5] ◉ Hill County Patch Panel Society ●●○○ 2 $1/hr 33% root │ │ [6] ◉ Harbor Night Relay Union ●●●● 6 $2/hr 14% root │ │ [7] ◉ Neon Spool Archive Coll… ●●●● 6 $3/hr 14% root │ │ [8] ◇ Peachtree unclaimed ○○○○ 0 $2/hr 100% root │ │ [9] ◇ Gulf unclaimed ○○○○ 0 $1/hr 100% root │ │ [0] ◇ Rain City unclaimed ○○○○ 0 $2/hr 100% root │ ╰───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯ inspect [1]-[9] [0] [B] Back
War Dialer — The scene
The ten-exchange ring and its yield, with every exchange’s owner, defence, income and your odds of taking it.
In motion
From the first dial to the season’s medals
Watch exchanges fall, contracts pay out and the feds arrive. Every scene below is recorded from the game.
ROOT › 415-555 Bay Exchange key continues ┌─ nova ───────────┐ ┌─ CARRIER SWITCH ──┐ │ │ │ │ │ ATDT │ │ · · · · · · │ │ 415-555 │══════════╗ ╔══════════●│ │ │ │ ║ ║ │ · · · · · · │ │ │ ╚═════════╝ └───────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ ═══ ROOTED ═══ ◆─◈─◉─◇─◆─◉─◇─◆─◈─◇ ▲ You root 415-555 Bay Exchange. It's yours now. +50 Rank, $12/hour
War Dialer: rooting an exchange
The crew dials in, the line runs to the switch, and the ring shows which exchange is now yours.
Recorded in an 80 × 24 terminal, at the game’s own timing. Motion pauses when the player leaves the screen. With reduced motion enabled, use Play to start; without JavaScript the still image remains visible.
Play on NetBBS
Open Doors on a NetBBS node that offers War Dialer. Return to the same node to continue in its shared world; other callers can make their moves between your visits.
The game is bundled with NetBBS. A node’s SysOp decides which doors callers can access. Connect using Telnet, SSH or the browser terminal, then open the door menu.
For installation and supported host configurations, read the door setup guide or the game’s own README.