Corewar is a coding game in which players write programs called warriors to compete in a simulated memory known as the core. Warriors battle to eliminate the opposition by causing them to execute illegal instructions such as DAT.
Warriors are written in a programming language called redcode – a language resembling assembly with each instruction occupying a single memory address within the core.
A round takes place over a number of turns called cycles. Each cycle, one warrior executes a single instruction. If a warrior is eliminated, the other warrior wins the round. If the maximum number of cycles is reached, the round is a draw.
A match usually has multiple rounds with points awarded for wins and draws. At the end the warrior with the most points is the winner. Points will be rewarded for overwriting an instruction of another warrior (hits) or if another warrior process is terminated due to an DAT instruction that was written by this warrior (kill).