A modern mountain estate of timber, stone, and glass surrounded by pines on the shore of Big Bear Lake, California

Real Estate

WarGames Filming Site Is Now a Big Bear Lake Estate

In 1983's WarGames, a teenage hacker tracks down reclusive computer scientist Dr. Stephen Falken at his remote lakeside hideaway. That hideaway was filmed on a real stretch of shoreline in Big Bear Lake, California, and the property is now for sale. Just don't expect to find Falken's rustic cabin. Today, 39224 Waterview Drive is a striking contemporary estate with seven bedrooms, nine baths, and about 7,167 square feet on more than 1.5 acres of lakefront.

Same Spot, Very Different House

According to the listing, the land dates back to Big Bear's mining era before it became a filming location, most notably as Falken's home in the film, which earned three Academy Award nominations. The site has since been "reimagined," as the listing puts it, and the result is a new build from Framework Design + Build, with exterior architecture by The Ranch Mine. Two wings meet at a central atrium and courtyard, where floor-to-ceiling glass frames a suspended fireplace and lines up a view straight through the house to the lake. That's a long way from the weathered timber lodge moviegoers remember, and it caused real confusion on Reddit until one commenter posted stills from the film for comparison.

A Hideout With Better Wi-Fi

Falken went off the grid. Whoever buys this place won't have to. The kitchen is wrapped in European white oak and includes two Ceppo Rosso marble islands and a wood-fired pizza oven. A lower entertainment level has a full wet bar and a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, one of five in the house. There are two primary suites, a cedar sauna with a Wi-Fi-controlled heater, a cedar soaking tub outside, and a heated driveway. The tech package includes Wi-Fi 7 networking and AI-powered surveillance, which one Redditor found a little ironic given the movie's warning about computers getting too smart. A climate-controlled "toy garage" fits a boat, jet skis, or an Airstream, and the buyer gets to choose their own dock configuration.