Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

Core War
     
         (Or more recently, "Core Wars") A game played between
        {assembly code} programs running in the {core} of a simulated
        machine (and vicariously by their authors).  The objective is
        to kill your opponents' programs by overwriting them.
     
        The programs are written using an {instruction set} called
        "{Redcode}" and run on a {virtual machine} called "{MARS}"
        (Memory Array Redcode Simulator).
     
        Core War was devised by Victor Vyssotsky, Robert Morris Sr.,
        and {Dennis Ritchie} in the early 1960s (their original game
        was called "{Darwin}" and ran on a {PDP-1} at {Bell Labs}).
        It was first described in the "Core War Guidelines" of March,
        1984 by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney of the Department of
        Computer Science at The University of Western Ontario
        (Canada).
     
        Dewdney wrote several "Computer Recreations" articles in
        "Scientific American" which discussed Core War, starting with
        the May 1984 article.  Those articles are contained in the two
        anthologies cited below.  A.K. Dewdney's articles are still
        the most readable introduction to Core War, even though the
        {Redcode} dialect described in there is no longer current.
     
        The International Core War Society (ICWS) creates and
        maintains Core War standards and the runs Core War
        tournaments.  There have been six annual tournaments and two
        standards (ICWS'86 and ICWS'88).
     
        ["The Armchair Universe: An Exploration of Computer Worlds",
        A. K. Dewdney, W. H. Freeman, New York, 1988, ISBN
        0-7167-1939-8, LCCN QA76.6 .D517 1988]
     
        ["The Magic Machine: A Handbook of Computer Sorcery",
        A. K. Dewdney, W. H. Freeman, New York, 1990, ISBN
        0-7167-2125-2 (Hardcover), 0-7167-2144-9 (Paperback), LCCN
        QA76.6 .D5173 1990].
     
        (1998-10-30)