Wardialer — A Retro Hacking Simulation

THE GAME

You're a college student with a Commodore 64, a 300 baud modem, and too much curiosity. Your modem dials numbers while you're at class. You come back to find carriers — computers that answered the phone.

Some are university systems. Some are corporate VAXes. Some belong to the government. You log in with default passwords. You explore. You take notes. You read underground BBS boards and learn phreaking from zines. You dumpster dive behind the phone company for technical manuals.

And somewhere in the noise, you notice a pattern. Someone else is already inside these systems. Someone very good. Someone from across the Iron Curtain.

"A love letter to the golden age of hacking."

Wardialer is a single-player hacking simulation for iOS. It runs on real-time timers — your modem scans while your phone is in your pocket. Come back in 20 minutes and see what it found. Play in 5-minute sessions, 10 times a day, for months. The story unfolds at the pace of real life in 1986.

WHAT YOU DO

War dial phone number ranges and discover computers connected to the phone network
Hack into VAX/VMS and UNIX systems using real commands from the era
Read BBS boards — message threads, file downloads, door games, underground culture
Social engineer phone company operators and corporate help desks
Phreak the phone network with blue boxes, calling cards, and trunk seizure tones
Dumpster dive behind phone company offices for technical manuals and subscriber lists
Keep a notebook that evolves from scattered scribbles to an organized intelligence system
Work a campus job to pay rent and buy hardware from the Computer Shopper catalog
Follow the intruder through a narrative inspired by real Cold War espionage
Make a choice — four paths, twelve endings, real consequences

AUTHENTICITY

Every terminal prompt matches a real 1986 operating system. Modem speeds are accurate. BBS culture is researched from primary sources. Phone phreaking techniques are period-correct. The narrative draws from real Cold War espionage cases. If you lived through it, you'll recognize it. If you didn't, you'll feel like you did.

JOIN THE PLAYTEST

We're looking for 100 dedicated playtesters to help shape Wardialer before launch. You'll get early access via TestFlight, structured playtest checklists, and a direct line to the development team.

Requires an iPhone running iOS 17+ and the TestFlight app.

No spam. We'll send a TestFlight invite and nothing else.

CARRIER DETECTED. Check your email for the TestFlight invite.