Modem Wars

Each player is presented with a map of which they control the lower half. Across the center is a line, below which they can set up their units. Each unit which crosses this line gains a point. If the ComCen crosses it, many additional points are scored.

A second line is three quarters of the way up the screen; crossing it with units gives additional points. Crossing it with the ComCen is one way to win the game.

The game was developed under the title Sport of War. Computer Gaming World noted this was the easiest way to understand the game, saying: "You play the game as a wargame, but you accumulate points as if it were a sports game". The name was changed to Modem Wars to call attention to how the game is intended to be played against other humans via modem. The computer AI opponent is referred to as a "solo trainer", and CGW recommended against buying the game for those planning to only play against the computer.

Modem Wars uses 4-byte packets for each "move", deltas to determine game states, and storage of those deltas to allow for after-game replays.

In Computer Gaming World's review from February 1989, Daniel Hockman noted designer Danielle Bunten Berry's intentions for the game: Dan would like us to believe that Modem Wars is "a wargame for the rest of us". That is, Modem Wars is a fast moving game that does not get bogged down in the minutiae of detail so often associated with wargames. Dan feels that Modem Wars is for those gamers who want to "play war" but are turned off by the detailed rules of the typical wargame.

In a 1992 survey of science fiction games, Computer Gaming World gave the title three of five stars. A 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game two-plus stars out of five, stating that "it may have been ahead of its time". The magazine in 1996 ranked it sixth on a list of the most innovative computer games.