🖥️
Retro Terminal Interface
Classic green-on-black terminal UI inspired by the WOPR from WarGames, with JetBrains Mono font.
✦ Shall we play a game?
WarGames-inspired AI terminal games.
Joshua is a retro terminal game application inspired by the WOPR from WarGames. Play Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers, Four Across, Chess, Reversi, Go, Blackjack, and Texas Hold'em Poker against intelligent AI opponents, complete with text-to-speech and classic green-on-black terminal styling.
Joshua
Linux • macOS • Windows •
Features
Classic games with intelligent AI opponents.
❌
Tic-Tac-Toe
Play the classic 3×3 grid game against an unbeatable minimax AI opponent.
🏁
Checkers
Full American checkers with minimax + alpha-beta pruning AI, adjustable difficulty, and drag-and-drop movement.
🔴
Four Across
Classic 7×6 vertical drop game with minimax + alpha-beta pruning AI, hover-to-select columns, and animated piece drops.
⚫
Reversi
Classic disc-flipping strategy game with minimax + alpha-beta pruning AI, animated flips, and positional evaluation.
♟️
Chess
Full chess powered by the bundled Stockfish engine with adjustable difficulty, drag-and-drop pieces, and full-strength endgame play.
⚪
Go
The ancient game of Go powered by the bundled KataGo engine with 9×9, 13×13, and 19×19 board sizes and territory scoring.
🂡🂮
Blackjack
Classic casino card game with a 6-deck shoe, hit/stand/double down, adjustable bets, and dealer hits on soft 17.
🂽
Texas Hold'em Poker
Play against 3-5 AI opponents with heuristic-based strategy, pot odds, bluffing, and full hand evaluation from High Card to Royal Flush.
☢️
Global Thermonuclear War
Choose a side, select targets on a world map, and watch missiles fly — only to learn the only winning move is not to play.
🧠
Adjustable Difficulty
Choose from multiple difficulty levels for each game, from Really Easy to Expert.
💡
Move Suggestions
Get the computer's best move suggestion highlighted to help you improve your strategy.
🤖
Computer vs Computer
Watch two AI opponents play against each other in spectator mode with configurable difficulty per side.
🔊
Text-to-Speech
All game prompts are spoken aloud for an authentic WOPR experience, with audio toggle.
🎨
Configurable Appearance
Customize terminal font size, font color, and background color to your preference.
✨
Animated Moves
Smooth animations for computer moves, multi-jump sequences in Checkers, and piece drops in Four Across.
💾
Persistent Settings
Window size, position, and preferences are saved between sessions.
🖥️
Cross-Platform Desktop App
Built with Qt 6 and C++17 for Linux, macOS and Windows.
Screenshots
Classic board games with a retro terminal twist.
Tic-Tac-Toe
Challenge an unbeatable AI
in the classic 3×3 grid game.
Checkers
Drag-and-drop pieces with adjustable
AI difficulty and move suggestions.
Four Across
Drop pieces into columns with
animated moves and smart AI.
Chess
Play against Stockfish with
drag-and-drop and adjustable ELO.
Reversi
Flip discs with animated moves
and positional AI strategy.
Go
Play on 9×9, 13×13, or 19×19 boards
powered by KataGo.
Blackjack
Hit, stand, or double down
with a 6-deck shoe.
Texas Hold'em
Play against AI opponents
with bluffing and pot odds.
Pricing
Simple app licensing.
Buy Joshua once for the desktop application, then enjoy classic AI-powered board games with a retro terminal aesthetic.
$15 software license
A WarGames-inspired AI terminal game for Linux, macOS and Windows.
- Eight classic games with intelligent AI
- Retro green-on-black terminal interface
- Adjustable difficulty levels
- Text-to-speech game prompts
- Computer vs computer spectator mode
- Cross-platform desktop builds
FAQ
Common questions
What is Joshua?
Joshua is a WarGames WOPR-inspired desktop game application featuring Tic-Tac-Toe, Checkers, Four Across, Chess, Reversi, and Go with intelligent AI opponents.
What games are included?
Joshua includes Tic-Tac-Toe with an unbeatable AI, Checkers and Four Across with adjustable difficulty, Chess powered by Stockfish, Reversi with positional AI, Go powered by KataGo, Blackjack with a 6-deck shoe, and Texas Hold'em Poker with heuristic AI opponents.
Can I adjust the AI difficulty?
Yes. Most games offer Really Easy through Expert difficulty levels. Chess adjusts via ELO rating (1320–3190), and Go adjusts via search depth. Tic-Tac-Toe uses full minimax and is unbeatable.
What is computer vs computer mode?
In Checkers, Four Across, Chess, Reversi, and Go you can watch two AI players compete against each other with independently configurable difficulty levels.
Does Joshua have sound?
Yes. Joshua uses text-to-speech to read game prompts aloud. On macOS it uses the classic "Fred" voice. Audio can be toggled on or off.
Which platforms are supported?
Joshua is built with Qt 6 and C++17 and supports Linux, macOS and Windows.
I'm not hearing the computer speak on Linux?
Be sure to install the espeak-ng or espeak Linux packages for the computer speech to work.
I'm having trouble downloading on Windows!
Microsoft Edge and Microsoft Defender make it very difficult to download software from the internet these days. See this page for instructions on how to download and install perfectly safe and free software from the internet.
Do I need a license for each computer?
No, you only need one license that is good for all platforms and all computers that you as an individual own. Send an email to Glowing Cat Software for information about commercial licenses.
Is Joshua open source?
Yes, Joshua source is available under the GPL 3.0 license.
Can I download and use Joshua without a license?
Yes, purchasing a license is optional, but it helps support open source software development.
Shall we play a game?
Download Joshua and challenge intelligent AI opponents
in classic board games with a retro terminal twist.
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