In War Room for the ColecoVision, tensions between the United States and Russia have escalated to the point of nuclear warfare. After you select a skill level from the ten that are available, you will detect waves of attacking satellites on the national radar at the top of the screen.
You view the larger portion of the playfield, which shows a top down regional view of the action, with your hunter-killer satellite. You must guide your satellite around the United States, hover over enemy satellites, and blast them with your lasers. Each enemy is color-coded (black, gray, yellow or red) to indicate how much time is left until detonation.
In addition to knocking out enemy satellites before they can destroy cities, you must maintain production of goods and services that will keep the country able to defend itself against wave after wave of nuclear attack. Cities produce four types of supplies: food, raw materials, machinery and laser fuel.
To gather supplies, you must position your satellite directly over a city, push the appropriate button, and enter the city. You will then appear as Uncle Sam in a 2D action sequence that has you running around touching icons while avoiding Russian spies; after getting what you need, you should head for the exit. If a spy touches you, the city is lost to the enemy, and your only recourse is to destroy it.
Some destroyed cities will be rebuilt as the game progresses. You get a free city for every 10,000 points you score and four freebies with every fifth wave attack. Food cities require no help, but in order for the other types of cities to continue producing their specialties, you must provide them with supplies.
Raw materials cities require food, Machinery cities need food and raw materials, and Laser Fuel cities cannot function without food, raw materials and machinery. It is your job to keep your cities well stocked. A special City Status screen helps you check a city's supply needs, and it keeps track of how many supplies are in your satellite.
War Room ends only when all your cities have been destroyed.