← WarGames

Two printed sides. Print double sided, or print the back separately.

Name: Period: Date:

Movie: WarGames

Directed by John Badham | MGM/United Artists (1983) | Rated PG | 114 minutes

There are two sides to this worksheet. Do both sides!

Part 1: Watch and Learn (answer while watching)

Circle the best answer.

  1. How does David end up connecting to a military computer?

    • A) He is invited by the Air Force
    • B) He dials phone numbers looking for a game company and finds a different system
    • C) He is given a password by a teacher
    • D) He builds a missile controller

  2. How does David figure out the password?

    • A) He asks his teacher
    • B) He researches Dr. Falken, an early AI scientist, and guesses the name of Falken's late son, Joshua
    • C) He buys it
    • D) He uses a program that tries every word

  3. What goes wrong when David plays "Global Thermonuclear War"?

    • A) The game freezes
    • B) The computer treats it as real, and NORAD's alert level goes up
    • C) The game ends right away
    • D) His own computer crashes

  4. After the FBI takes David to NORAD, what does he do to try to stop the computer?

    • A) He gives up
    • B) He escapes and, with Jennifer, finds Dr. Falken
    • C) He calls the President
    • D) He deletes the game

  5. What finally stops the computer from launching real missiles?

    • A) A password
    • B) It plays tic-tac-toe against itself and then runs every war scenario, and learns that nobody can win
    • C) The power goes out
    • D) A general turns it off

Part 2: Think Like a Computer Scientist

  1. Passwords: David finds the password by learning about the person who built the system and guessing something personal. What made that a weak password? Describe two things you could do to make a strong one.

  2. Permission: David thinks he is only playing a game, but he has connected to a real computer. Where was the line between a prank and a serious problem? What should he have done as soon as he realized what he had found?

  3. People in the Loop: At the start, the military decides to give launch decisions to a computer because some crew members would not turn their keys. What problem were they trying to fix? What went wrong? When should a person, not a computer, make the final decision?

  4. Learning by Trying: The computer learns by playing a game against itself over and over. Why can that be a good way for a computer to learn? How is it like the way you get better at a game or a skill?

  5. Personal Connection: Which character in the movie do you think you are most like and why? (David, Jennifer, Dr. Falken, McKittrick, the computer (WOPR), or another character)